An explanation for why Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka got angry with teammate Gabriel has been provided on Tuesday.
The Gunners faced off with the Eagles on Monday evening, looking to retake fourth place from Tottenham who climbed into the Champions League place after putting five past Newcastle United on Sunday.
Arsenal only needed a point to achieve this and, given their recent form against anyone except a top-six side, it seemed likely that Mikel Arteta’s team would leave Selhurst Park with all three points.
However, the north Londoners, who were without the services of left-back Kieran Tierney, struggled to get going and found themselves 2-0 down after 24 minutes.
From here, Arteta’s side never recovered, with left-back Nuno Tavares hooked at half-time and Xhaka instead forced to cover in that spot.
Palace then added a third in the 74th minute and, with Tierney potential out for some time, Arsenal’s season now looks to be hanging in the balance.
Why Xhaka was angry with Gabriel
And now, football.london have explained why Xhaka, who was covering at left-back at the time, got angry with fellow defender, Gabriel.
They report that there was an incident around the hour mark where the Swiss midfielder received a poor pass from Gabriel that saw him forced to haul down Jordan Ayew.
After taking a booking for the incident, Xhaka then turned to lambast his Brazilian teammate for exposing him with such a loose ball.
With Tierney out and Tavares seemingly not up to the task, will Xhaka be forced to continue in the left-back role for the remainder of 2021/22?
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