Unseen footage shows why Granit Xhaka charged back to confrontation between Arsenal and Tottenham players

Granit Xhaka showed he had Kieran Tierney’s back after he ran over to help him during the heated standoff between Arsenal and Tottenham players.

Arsenal walked away with the ultimate bragging rights from the north London derby with a 2-0 victory over rivals Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A Hugo Lloris howler allowed Arsenal to take a first-half lead before Martin Odegaard doubled their advantage before half-time, with Spurs unable to mount a comeback.

Arsenal moved eight points clear of defending champions Manchester City, who lost to Manchester United on Saturday, at the top of the Premier League table.

But things turned ugly after the north London derby when Tottenham fan Joseph Watts, who has since been charged with assault, kicked Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale.

All hell broke loose after the full-time whistle and both sets of players engaged in a heated confrontation, with staff members attempting to de-escalate the situation.

Footage has since emerged (which can be viewed in the video player above) of Xhaka marching back into the chaotic scenes to help out teammate Tierney.

Xhaka coming back to protect Tierney from getting pushed around is accompanied by the incredible angle of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta scrambling after him.

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“So this is the reason Xhaka ran quickly toward the [Spurs] players,” one fan tweeted.

Someone else added: “Granit Xhaka is the type of soldier who leaves no-one behind [and] the love at Arsenal is immense. Credit to Mikel Arteta.”

A third Twitter user wrote: “I wouldn’t replace Xhaka with anyone in the league right now.”

Another fan commented: “Our team back each other up and I love that.”

While one fan said: “Ah, that’s why Xhaka went back. Good man.”

Arsenal will return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host United at the Emirates, with kick-off slated for 4:30pm UK time.

Topics: Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Granit Xhaka, Kieran Tierney, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9