Patrice Evra claims Thierry Henry turned off Arsenal game after seeing Granit Xhaka was captain

The Swiss midfielder was sent off in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Sunday evening

Karl Matchett
Monday 14 December 2020 08:21 EST
Comments
Granit xhaka
Granit xhaka (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Granit Xhaka received plenty of deserved criticism after his red card for Arsenal against Burnley on Sunday night - and Patrice Evra went one further.

The Swiss midfielder was dismissed for grabbing the Clarets’ Ashley Westwood by the throat, moments after a crude foul on Dwight McNeil which would have only seen Xhaka yellow carded.

Arsenal went on to lose the game 1-0, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting an own goal after Xhaka’s red.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, Evra relayed a story about the disgraced Gunners former captain, to elaborate his wider point on why fans have “had enough” of his lack of discipline.

“We're talking about Xhaka, I will tell you a quick story. Thierry Henry one day invited me to his house, he said 'come Patrice, we're going to watch the Arsenal game’,” Evra explained.

"He turned on the TV. The first image we saw on the screen it was Xhaka leading Arsenal, being the captain - Thierry Henry turned off the TV.

"I said 'What's happened?'. He said 'I can't watch my team and Xhaka being the captain of my team’, and we didn't watch the game.

“We started talking about many things and he turned off the screen. It tells you everything of what the legends of this club think about him. He again let down his team.”

Xhaka made headlines for a confrontation with supporters last year and looked to be on the verge of an Arsenal exit, before regaining his place under Mikel Arteta.

But Arteta has himself been under pressure after a dismal run of results which leave the Gunners 15th in the table.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in