
By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2nnqbXd
Unai Emery insists he did not see Granit Xhaka’s alleged ‘duck’ during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United and praised his captain’s overall performance at Old Trafford.
A picture of Monday evening’s match shared on social media appeared to show Xhaka, the midfielder, bowing his head as Scott McTominay’s long-range strike nestled in the back of the net to hand United a 1-0 lead.
The Switzerland international, who was named Arsenal’s new permanent captain last week, was widely criticised on Twitter as the picture emerged, with the likes of Piers Morgan laying into Xhaka.
Our captain.
pic.twitter.com/auleeRjQMi
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 30, 2019
One angry Arsenal fan even called talkSPORT after the match to slam Xhaka, ranting to the Sports Bar: ‘Whoever named him Granit didn’t know what they were doing!’
Naturally, Gunners boss Unai Emery was quizzed on this alleged ‘duck’ following the game, but he insists he did NOT see his skipper move out the way of McTominay’s goal-bound shot.
“He ran back, he was maybe the first, in this action,’ said Emery on Xhaka’s display. “I didn’t see that action [the duck] but I watched him running back. He did perfect with that run.”
Emery had further praise for Xhaka’s overall performance at Old Trafford in a match lacking in quality and far removed from the legendary clashes of the Ferguson vs Wenger era.
Check out all the live commentaries coming up across the talkSPORT network this week
The Spaniard continued: “He worked with a big commitment, he was in the pitch with a good balance, defensively and offensively. Tonight I think he worked well.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half goal cancelled out McTominay’s opener and secured a share of the spoils for Arsenal, who moved back into the top four having scored more goals than fifth place West Ham.
Man United sit down in 10th with just two wins from seven matches, below the likes of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
Unai Emery insists he did not see Granit Xhaka’s alleged ‘duck’ during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United and praised his captain’s overall performance at Old Trafford.
A picture of Monday evening’s match shared on social media appeared to show Xhaka, the midfielder, bowing his head as Scott McTominay’s long-range strike nestled in the back of the net to hand United a 1-0 lead.
The Switzerland international, who was named Arsenal’s new permanent captain last week, was widely criticised on Twitter as the picture emerged, with the likes of Piers Morgan laying into Xhaka.
Our captain.
pic.twitter.com/auleeRjQMi
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 30, 2019
One angry Arsenal fan even called talkSPORT after the match to slam Xhaka, ranting to the Sports Bar: ‘Whoever named him Granit didn’t know what they were doing!’
Naturally, Gunners boss Unai Emery was quizzed on this alleged ‘duck’ following the game, but he insists he did NOT see his skipper move out the way of McTominay’s goal-bound shot.
“He ran back, he was maybe the first, in this action,’ said Emery on Xhaka’s display. “I didn’t see that action [the duck] but I watched him running back. He did perfect with that run.”
Emery had further praise for Xhaka’s overall performance at Old Trafford in a match lacking in quality and far removed from the legendary clashes of the Ferguson vs Wenger era.
Check out all the live commentaries coming up across the talkSPORT network this week
The Spaniard continued: “He worked with a big commitment, he was in the pitch with a good balance, defensively and offensively. Tonight I think he worked well.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half goal cancelled out McTominay’s opener and secured a share of the spoils for Arsenal, who moved back into the top four having scored more goals than fifth place West Ham.
Man United sit down in 10th with just two wins from seven matches, below the likes of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
Liverpool snapped up Billy Koumetio from French club Orleans at the turn of the year after the Anfield club's backroom staff spotted the impressive young centre-back on a scouting mission. Koumetio, who is a powerful and very able defender currently playing for Liverpool's under-18 side, could go on to be one of the best defenders in the world.
Bayern Munich midfielder Ivan Perisic has sensationally revealed that he came very close to making a move to Man Utd, but instead opted to transfer to Germany. The Croatian international had been linked with a move away from Inter Milan since 2017 but instead opted to stay put in Serie A.
Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule has revealed that he had an option to move to England and sign for either Tottenham or Manchester United prior to moving to the Bavarian side. Sule arrived in Munich from Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim in a 25 million euro transfer deal in 2017.
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