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Divisive midfielders seem to be all the rage at the Emirates, from the mercurial Mesut Ozil to the madness of Matteo Guendouzi - but neither seemed to play as regularly as Granit Xhaka.

The Switzerland international was signed by Arsenal icon Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2016 and - through some highs and some remarkable individual lows - he remains one of the first names on the team-sheet. Some may argue the fact that Wenger, Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta have all chosen to overlook his glaring flaws and continue to play the midfielder is a testament to his ability.

Xhaka was named club captain by Emery, but was duly stripped of the armband for an astonishing outburst aimed at the Arsenal fans back when they jeered him off the pitch back in 2019. Fast forward three years and he appears to have launched another one aimed at his teammates.

In the wake of the Gunners hugely damaging 2-0 defeat by Newcastle, Xhaka gave an eye-opening post-match interview to Sky Sports seemingly suggesting that some of his colleagues needed to show a bit more courage given Champions League football was on the line.

"It's difficult to find the right words. From the first minute to the 90th we didn't deserve to be on the pitch," the former Borussia