Granit Xhaka's Pre-Match Programme Notes Have Aged Horribly After Red Card Vs Burnley

Granit Xhaka's told Arsenal fans he was 'very organised' and focused on discipline in his pre-match notes against Burnley - before going on to get sent off in the game.

Arsenal lost 1-0 on Sunday night and it was their fourth consecutive league defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

Xhaka received a red card in the second half after putting his hands on Ashley Westwood, when the Gunners were on top.

But the Swiss international's programme notes had said: "I'm a guy who is very organised. This is maybe my best thing - for me, organisation, discipline and respect for other people are very, very important.

"I grew up like this and I will pass it on to my little one."

The 28-year-old will now miss key Premier League games against Southampton and Everton over the Christmas period.

Pressure continues to mount on manager Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have slumped to 15th in the table.

Arteta told Sky Sports that Xhaka overstepped the line with his conduct and admitted it was 'unacceptable.'

"He's made a mistake, clearly, that has cost us.

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"We were prepared, knowing this was a game we clearly had to win, but with 10 men it makes it much more difficult. You give the opponent a chance and you end up losing on a set-piece."

Patrice Evra worked on the game as a pundit for Sky and told a story which involved club legend Thierry Henry turning off the TV after seeing Xhaka as captain.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach man was captain between September and November 2019 following Laurent Koscielny's departure.

Midfield partner Mohamed Elneny was also lucky to not receive his marching orders after a tussle with Clarets defender James Tarkowski.

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"I think being unacceptable doing that action is because the players are in a moment where they are so willing to do more, to fight more, to show how committed they are, to be alive in the games, that on this occasion Granit has overstepped the line," Arteta continued.

"There is another action with Mo that I haven't seen but looks similar. We cannot make that mistake because that's the wrong approach to what we are trying to do."

Despite a poor run of form domestically, Arsenal have made it to the Europa League round of 32 and will face Portuguese outfit Benfica.

Topics: Football News, Football, Granit Xhaka, Premier League, Arsenal, Burnley

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a freelance journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

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