Furious Granit Xhaka deletes Instagram post after Arsenal’s defeat at Wolves

Furious Granit Xhaka deletes an Instagram post of his which he published after Arsenal’s miserable defeat at Wolves on Tuesday night.

The Gunners opened the game strongly at Molineux and had hoped to be on course for a victory which would have seen the challenging for a place in the top four spot.

Nicolas Pepe hit home, putting Mikel Arteta’s side deservedly ahead just past the half hour mark. However that was as good as it got for them with the game turning either side come half time.

Wolves’ comeback was sparked by David Luiz’s controversial sending off, making it the defender’s third red of his Arsenal career when his knee inadvertently clipped Willian Jose and caused the Brazilian forward to lose his footing when clean through on goal.

Ruben Neves superbly scored the penalty and then Joao Moutinho secured all three points for the home side with a unbelievable 35-yard strike just five minutes into the second half.

It got worse for Arsenal with 20 minutes remaining on the clock when goalkeeper Bernd Leno was given a red card for a deliberate handball offence way outside the box after he had misjudged a long-ball aimed in the direction of Adama Traore.

A host of Arsenal players took to social media after the game to vent their anger at the refereeing decisions, which contributed to Arsenal’s seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League coming to an end.

Xhaka initially posted a picture on his Instagram page of him gesticulating at referee Craig Pawson, putting a caption ‘feeling frustrated’. The Switzerland international quickly swiftly removed it.

Asked afterwards, meanwhile, whether or not Arsenal would appeal Luiz’s red card, Arteta said: ‘Well, on my understanding here I wouldn’t say ‘yes, let’s go straight away because I think we have a big chance’. But I don’t know, I will speak to legal and the club and make the best decision of what to do.

‘If there’s any contact, it’s him [Willian Jose] with David. That’s what I’ve seen, but I don’t know if they have a different angle of what I have or maybe what you have. That’s where the disappointment is coming from.

‘It’s hard enough to win football matches in the league and those big decisions are like that, but there’s nothing we can change at the moment.’

Gabriel Magalhaes also reacted furiously on Instagram, questioning Craig Pawson’s decision to send-off David Luiz.

He posted a picture of the incident with a series of angry emojis.

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID:

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo: “It’s a very welcome win, it means a lot. We are in a tough moment and it is important. We did many beautiful things in the past seasons and we want to emulate them again.

“The game was very difficult, Arsenal played some very good football; they broke, counter-attacked, had possession, it was a tough first half.

“Every changed with the penalty, the dynamic of the game changed. The referee didn’t have any other option [but to show a red card] in both situations.”

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta: “I’ve seen the replay [of David Luiz’s red card] 10 times from five different angles, and I cannot see any contact. I would like to see if VAR have different angles. I don’t want to think that [the decision was made on David Luiz’s reputation] I’m sure they made the decision based on seeing something. I was expecting to see something but didn’t see anything.

“I am super proud about our team, the way we played and how we dominated in the first half. We should have been three or four goals up, we didn’t do that, and then we put ourselves in a really difficult position conceding a goal and going a man down.

“The way we lost the game really hurts, it’s painful But I have to take the positives from the way the team is evolving, the way the team played against this opponent and the amount of chances we created.”

Fans reacted as a furious Granit Xhaka deletes his Instagram post after Arsenal’s defeat at Wolves…

@xLeonAfc: Shouldve knocked the ref out at ft

@WestHamPlace: Xhaka talking about discipline kind of loses its impact doesn’t it

@marcogouveia11: Was one of the worst refereeing displays I’ve ever seen. Completely changed the dynamics of the game with that red. Also how was play allowed to go on for that long?

@JHobbsyy: Xhaka posted a picture of him having a go at Craig Cuntson and then deleted it on Instagram. Not a mistake, he wanted people to see that

@afc614: All the match officials need to be put on live television and do a bielsa style presentation explaining their decisions, they must be held accountable. They’re under no real pressure to actually do their job competently, they can make mistake after mistake and go unpunished

@BillsDraxx: Should have added a ‘middle finger’ emoji as well

@iainpip140: Well said. We didnt deserve it

@afcZack_: He’s obviously been forced to delete it

@gritty_brit: Part of the problem, he’s not good enough. Mid table is his level.

@Prosper457: He will get fined now

@AFCArshad: One of the ones that actually care, gave it everything out there

@AFCAgenda: Go on Xhaka, expose that cheating weasel.

@dannyhs95: Last night’s performance springs to mind the phrase “One of those”. We didn’t get smashed we kept it together considering the circumstances and didn’t make fools of ourselves. We saw what happened down south……. Again.