Granit Xhaka admits fault after Crystal Palace draw

Switzerland international Granit Xhaka has taken the blame for the penalty conceded during the final minutes of the Premier League clash against Crystal Palace. The Gunners looked to have made another comeback after coming from a goal down but they were pegged back seven minutes from time after Xhaka fouled Wilfried Zaha in the box.

Speaking after the game, Xhaka admitted that he has no complaints regarding the penalty decision after clearly touching Zaha before the forward dropped to the ground. He told Sky Sports: “It was a clear penalty. I came too late and I touched him. We can’t be happy because for me we have lost two points. If you are 1-0 down and you change the game and come back to lead 2-1 then you must be clever at the end. We know the Premier League is difficult and we know we can’t win all the games. Palace are difficult at home, but it was not our best game.”

Xhaka had been the subject of criticism from the supporters last term where he was guilty of many occasions of standing put during defensive-minded situations. That concern has partly been solved this term with summer signing Lucas Torreira making most of the last-ditch tackles but there remain concerns regarding the Swiss’ judgement during matches.

“The Swiss has started the previous two matches from the left side of the defence“ and this has pretty much reduced his importance in terms of passing from the centre of the park. Nonetheless, Unai Emery does
“not have much choice“with Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all on the sidelines.

Stephan Lichtsteiner has on a couple of occasions slotted into the left side of the backline but he has genuinely struggled, having already entered the twilight of his professional career. Arsenal are currently fourth on the Premier League table with 22 points, four behind league leaders Manchester City.