Arsenal manager Unai Emery has defended under-fire Granit Xhaka amid accusations that the captain ducked out of the way of Manchester United's opener on Monday night.
The Gunners battled to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's equaliser - awarded by VAR - cancelled out Scott McTominay's first-half strike.
After being jeered by his own fans last week, Xhaka's duck of the head as McTominay's shot flew towards him will have done nothing to endear the captain to the Gunners faithful.
The midfielder was later criticised by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who claimed Xhaka’s technique of putting his hands behind his back and lowering his head "wasn’t right".
But Emery has stepped in to defend his skipper and said: "He ran back, he was maybe the first, in this action.
"I didn’t see that action [him ducking] but I watched him running back. He did perfect with that run.
"He worked with a big commitment, he was in the pitch with a good balance, defensively and offensively. I think he worked well."
Emery also insisted he was satisfied with the result, saying: "We wanted to win because we were thinking it was a very good opportunity to get three points but after 90 minutes it's a fair result for both (teams).
"That result can be a good point if we win on Sunday against Bournemouth at home. We will analyse the positive things and things to improve.
"Defensively I thought we were very competitive and offensively in some moments maybe we could do better to create more chances."
