Granit Xhaka Out Injured Ahead Of Crucial Premier League Tie
Reuters / Hannah McKay
Granit Xhaka will take no part in Arsenal’s clash against Manchester United this weekend.
The Swiss holding midfielder suffered an ankle injury in their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby at White Hart Lane. He has failed to shake it off though, and has been ruled out of the clash by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster clash, Wenger said: “Granit Xhaka is still out. (Shkodran) Mustafi is back in normal training, that’s basically it. (David) Ospina is fully fit, Lucas Perez is back in training but will miss the next couple of days after picking up a knock.”
Their opponents on Sunday, Manchester United, played in the Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo on Thursday, and they fielded their best players.
Wenger’s arch-rival Jose Mourinho admitted that he may be forced to field a weakened team against the Gunners if necessary, but the Frenchman claims that any team United put out will be a strong one.
“We focus on our performance,” Wenger said when asked about Mourinho’s comments. “I don’t know what Man Utd will do. We know anyway they have a massive squad with quality players and only a top performance will get us the win we want.
“The only advantage we can give is to focus on ourselves not a weaker Manchester United. No matter who plays they will have a strong team out. What I want is that my team turns up with a strong performance on Sunday.”
For the first time in over 20 years, Arsenal are guaranteed to finish below Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners are struggling to find any sort of momentum, and currently sit sixth in the Premier League table.
Should they fail to qualify for the Champions League, it would add to the already massive burden on Wenger’s back to resign, and Arsenal know that nothing but a win will do against United at the Emirates.
Written by Reyhan Ashley Nath 
Manchester United fan, Wayne Rooney is his role model. Passionate writer who has written for several sites in the past. He’s also an aspiring pianist and creates background music for BlameFootball’s Youtube channel.