This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has hit back at Patrice Evra after the former Manchester United defender called the Gunners “babies”.
What’s he said?
Evra spent eight years at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
And he claims that he often referred to the Gunners as “babies” when playing for United, and has no reason to change that assessment following their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Monday.
He said on Sky Sports, via Football 365: “Sheffield United deserved the win, but I’m not surprised about Arsenal. I said before the game that they had to make sure they didn’t fall into the trap.
“I used to call them ‘my babies’ 10 years ago, and they are still when I look at them and think they are ‘my babies’ and that’s the truth – I’m not being disrespectful when I say that.”
Xhaka, despite the Gunners’ defeat, hit back at the comments, though, insisting that they are “b*******”.
He said on Sky, via F365: “A lot of people speak too much.
“I have a lot of respect for him because he was a great player, but you have to be careful what you say.
“He knows what these situations well, but it’s not only him. A lot of people speak a lot of b******* and it’s always the same.
“For me, it’s strange because they [former players] have been in the same situation as us – maybe it was sometimes good, sometimes not so good, but like I said, if you speak b******* like this every weekend, then what they say doesn’t get respected.”
Stop losing
If Xhaka wants Arsenal to be respected, he needs to help his side to victories.
Instead, on Monday, his side surrendered meekly in the face of a Blades side roared on by a vociferous Bramall Lane crowd.
Xhaka claims that Evra should respect the fact that he went through difficult moments during his career too, but he more often than not ended up on the winning side. His trophy haul accounts for that.
The Switzerland international, by comparison, has won the FA Cup once.
Before he is to start hitting back against Evra, he needs to ensure that he adds some more baubles to his collection, and perhaps stop his side from losing against newly-promoted teams.
