Granit Xhaka has hit back at Patrice Evra’s ‘bulls***’ claims after he referred to Arsenal players as ‘my babies’ in the wake of their 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United.
Lys Mousset’s strike on the half-hour mark gave the Blades all three points at Bramall Lane as Arsenal fluffed their opportunity to move up to third in the Premier League table.
The result means Arsenal have failed to record a victory in their last four games away from home and Emery’s unusual team selection was criticised by Ian Wright, among others.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Patrice Evra accused Arsenal of having historic mentality problems after yet another poor start to a league season.
Evra famously called Arsene Wenger’s team ‘babies’ after Manchester United beat Arsenal to reach the Champions League final back in 2009 – and the former defender repeated his comments on Monday.
‘I used to call them “my babies” ten 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,’ Evra said.
‘They look pretty, but they don’t look like a winning team. They like playing good football, but I was so happy to play against them, because I knew I was going to win.’
Though Arsenal have lost four of their last seven away games against newly-promoted sides, Xhaka played down claims that the team have a mentality issue when playing on the road.
‘We have to stop talking about [the mental side of the game] and bulls*** like this,’ the Arsenal captain said.
‘I’m sorry to say that, but for me it’s the same whether you play at home or away. You have to win and show big character and not look for the same excuse.’
Asked specifically about Evra’s comments, Xhaka said: ‘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 bulls*** and it’s always the same.
‘For me it’s strange because they [ex-footballers] have been in the same situation as us – maybe it was sometimes good, sometimes not so good.
