Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has jumped to the defence of Granit Xhaka, following a wealth of criticism after the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The Switzerland international, captain for the match, gave away a first-half penalty following a clumsy foul on Son Heung-Min, which allowed Harry Kane to tuck home and double Spurs' advantage.
Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck to ensure the score finished level, preventing the Gunners from suffering a second defeat in a row, but Xhaka has faced a backlash for his performances.
Among his critics was Arsenal legend Paul Merson, who claimed he doesn't know what Xhaka brings to the side, but his former team-mate Parlour countered that view with his own assessment of the midfielder.
"He's good on the ball, he's decent on the ball. He can pass 25, 30 yards no problem. I think he's very good at doing that," he told TalkSport.
"Sometimes he slots in and keeps things simple but at the weekend he didn't have a good game. You know when you don't have a good game as a player and I'm sure he thought at the end 'it wasn't a great game for myself but now I'm skipper'. You can't let that worry you.
"Xhaka has just got to calm down sometimes, be a bit more clever. You've got to be clever as a player and you can't make mistakes like he did and give the [other] team an opportunity to score goals."
