Kevin Campbell reckons Granit Xhaka’s booking against Aston Villa wasn’t worth it, and he only got booked because of his reputation. The Swiss midfielder has earned a reputation for either getting a yellow card or being sent off on a regular basis.
Some of his bookings and sending off have been harsh, but the midfielder also doesn’t cover himself in glory with some of his tackles. He is a player that Arsenal fans don’t know what to expect from.
Against Villa, he received a booking in the first half with the referee, Andrew Madley, gesturing that it wasn’t his first foul before booking him. However, it seemed it could have been the case of mistaken identity and former Arsenal star, Campbell believes he got booked because of his reputation.
He tells Football Insider: “The referee is pointing to stuff that never happened. It is a figment of the imagination. The referee has pointed to three different spots and then booked him.
“It is nonsense and embarrassing. It’s Xhaka so he is booking him. There is no doubt in my mind.
“These things need to be looked at. English referees are not good enough. There is only a couple of good ones if we are honest. Half of them are not fit for purpose.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Xhaka has remained an important player to us, but his decision making sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. The Swiss midfielder might be a victim of his reputation, but he earned the reputation by himself and now has to deal with everything that comes with it.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Kevin state the bleeding obvious Campbell !
🎉😂
The card should be cancelled since it’s a case of mistaken identity. Hate or love him, Arsenal need more combative DM’s like Xhaka. I will start him every game if I coach Arsenal.
If that’s the case then the refs are incompetent.
The simple fact is that we just dont have enough competent referees officiating the games, it is just as simple as that.
Xhaka ofcourse dont cover his self in glory, but weeks after week we are seen basic simple mistakes from the officials.
There was a clear penalty in a match against Everton and even with VAR they just couldn’t get it right,
There is also another against Newcastle, somthing needs to be done.
Some time the referee are lazy, but most time its share incompetence, why cant the onfield official take time out and go over to VAR monitor and take control of the situation .
At the end of one of these very same match one of the manager was complaining his three year old daughter at home could tell it was a penalty.
If the onfield officials cant get the basics how can we expect protection for Saka
If 3 successive full time managers have found Xhaka so important that they all start him unless he is not fit, shows something about the man and his importance to the team cause. That said, specially this season, there have been so many errors by the referees that it is becoming worrying.