Granit Xhaka ‘crossed the line’ with red card ‘unacceptable’, admits Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described Granit Xhaka’s behavior as “unacceptable” and said the experienced Swiss midfielder crossed the line when his red card proved decisive in Sunday night’s loss to Burnley.

The game’s big flash point came just before the scheduled time when a skirmish broke out between the two groups of players after a foul on Burnley winger Dwight McNeil.

VAR replays showed Xhaka had grabbed Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood by the neck in the melee that followed the foul. Referee Graham Scott initially awarded a yellow before he made his way to the courtside monitor and flipped for a red.

When asked what he thought about Xhaka’s decision making, Arteta said: ‘Absolutely (unacceptable). He made a mistake, the dominance we had at that time … it’s a game that we clearly had to win, but with 10 men you give the opponent a chance.

‘Yes, it is unacceptable to do that action, but it is because they are very willing to do more, fight more, and this time Granit overstepped. We can’t make that mistake because it’s the wrong approach for us. ‘

Burnley boss Sean Dyche was willing to downplay the incident after an impressive away win and focused on his own side, but revealed that he had spoken to his players about the matchups.

“I ask you not to respond to the referees, not to get involved,” he said.

“Sometimes I do my part, but I tell them, ‘just play hard, stay focused and stay focused on the game.”

The loss was Arsenal’s fourth in a row in the league at Emirates Stadium, and while the victory knocks Burnley out of the relegation zone, Dyche’s team also closed the gap with 15th-ranked Arsenal, four points behind. .

But Arteta, the Premier League’s youngest manager, whom Dyche insisted “will find his own way soon,” insists there is no cause for panic inside the locker room.

“I wouldn’t say it’s panic,” he said. ‘I can see in training the way they try and the energy they put in, and it was the same tonight.

‘I can see leaders but again we lost the game. We gave the opponent a chance and football is about winning matches. ”

Westwood was again involved in the decisive play when his corner in the 73rd minute was thrown into his own net by a defenseless Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.