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Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

Ian Wright's thinly-veiled dig at Granit Xhaka as Arsenal draw with Spurs in north London derby

Ian Wright has delivered thinly-veiled criticism of Granit Xhaka following Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Tottenham in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

The Swiss international conceded a penalty in the first half of the game, with Arsenal captain Xhaka going to ground as he challenged Heung-min Son, making contact with the South Korean international and bringing him down.

Referee Martin Atkinson had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, with Harry Kane stepping up to convert to give Spurs a 2-0 lead, after Christian Eriksen had given the visitors the lead.

Arsenal did get back into the game thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the spoils were shared in north London, but that has not stopped pundits from being critical of Xhaka.

Indeed, BBC pundit Chris Sutton described his challenge as "inexcusable", while Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Graeme Souness labelled his decision to go to ground as "madness" and "disgraceful" respectively.

Premier League 2019/20 - key fixtures

And Arsenal legend Wright has also been critical of the 26-year-old, albeit with the pundit disguising his criticism of the midfielder while praising his team-mate Matteo Guendouzi.

Analysing the Frenchman's performance against Spurs as a pundit on BBC programme Match of the Day 2, Wright said: "If you are going to go to ground, win it, people in his team can learn from that from him to be honest."

Wright was then asked by host Mark Chapman if he was referring to a fellow midfielder, with the Arsenal legend simply replying: "Exactly."

Xhaka has admitted his mistake via social media, with the midfielder taking to Instagram to send a message to the fans after the game, as can be seen below.

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