Arsenal fans think they have spotted Granit Xhaka having a very subtle dig at Tottenham following the win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.
Xhaka had a strong game for the Gunners, assisting both of Martin Odegaard’s goals in their commanding 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Jesus added a third to have the game wrapped up in the 34th minute and Noni Madueke’s consolation goal did little to take the shine off things.
The win gave Arsenal a much-needed boost and, more importantly, ended a run of four games without victory to send them back to the top of the Premier League table. Xhaka was selected for post-match media duties, appearing live on Sky Sports to discuss the game.
He appeared alongside presenter Dave Jones and pundits Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to answer questions. But it wasn’t what he said that caught the attention, rather what he was wearing.
Xhaka had put on an Arsenal club jacket to keep warm on the pitch, but he wasn’t wearing his own. Instead he donned the jacket of Tom Geeson-Brown, Arsenal’s first team performance nutritionist, whose initials of TGB sparked comments online.
“Xhaka rocking a Tottenham Get Battered top,” wrote one fan. Another added: “Proper s***housery from Xhaka! TOTTENHAM GET BATTERED everywhere they gooo! TGB.”
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“When I saw the post match interviews, I didn’t think of it but this is amazing,” another added. “Wow it's just brilliant,” concluded another.
The initials appeared to mirror a favourite song of the Arsenal fans, who have had plenty of reason to sing it of late. Spurs are without a win from their last eight away matches in all competitions, having lost six and drawn two of those games, conceding 21 goals.
Xhaka focused on Arsenal in his interview after the win sent them back past Manchester City into first place, albeit having played two games more.
“As a team, we put in a good effort today after the four games we didn’t win, and I think we needed the three points. It was very important,” he said. “We needed a reaction for the fans, for ourselves as well to come back with confidence and hopefully we can continue like this for the next four games.”
He earned lots of praise from former Arsenal midfielders Vieira and Fabreas. “He is a top player. I had a chance to spend a bit of time with him off the field and he loves this football club,” Vieira said. "He is passionate on the field and that passion, he needs to share it around with the other players to take as well more responsibility. I hope that fire inside him, he will keep it, because that makes him as a player."
Fabregas agreed, adding: "I think he’s got the same passion but he’s not rash like before," he added. "He’s not committing into challenges he cannot win.”
