If there was one guy to back up Granit Xhaka after the midfielder’s display against Manchester United, it was Unai Emery.
The Arsenal manager defended his captain after he came into another round of strong criticism following his role in Scott McTominay’s goal.
Xhaka appeared to duck down for the opponents shot instead of trying to block it but the blame could be pointed out as controversial since the shot took a slight deflection.
“He worked with a big commitment,” Emery told a news conference after the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Monday night. “He ran back, maybe the first run back in this action. I didn’t see that action [the apparent duck]. I watched when he was running back and really he did perfect with that run.”
Bukayo Saka was an influential figure for Arsenal and much more impactful than £72m summer signing, Nicholas Pepe. Speaking about the 18-year-old, Emery said, “He is working and improving, being mature and playing matches. With his work it’s natural. He’s improving, he’s helping us now as an important player.
“We are going to go with him with calm and patience but also if he deserves to take minutes to have that confidence to help us, it’s fantastic for us.”
“Football is changing. Physically it’s very important. Every team physically is very strong,” Emery added. “You need to play with quality, you need to play with quality of the course and be able to use the space on the pitch for 90 minutes.
“Every player in each team is very, very fit. We both have very quality players. We need to improve our mental work, tactically to achieve the best performance.”
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