A bombshell revelation from the former Manchester United defender
Patrice Evra said that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry turns the TV off whenever he sees Granit Xhaka leading the Gunners out as captain.
Evra was speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, in the wake of Arsenal’s embarrassing home defeat to Burnley.
Arsenal spurned a number of chances to test Nick Pope in the Burnley goal, and were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal. The Clarets got the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed into his own net.
However, Arsenal had been handed an uphill task just before the hour mark when Granit Xhaka was given his marching orders.
The Swiss midfielder had initially been booked for an off-the-ball incident with Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood. But the yellow card was soon upgraded to a red upon closer inspection through VAR.
Xhaka could be seen grabbing Westwood by the throat, and was subsequently dismissed for violent conduct.
Extraordinary claim by Patrice Evra on Sky Sports just now claiming he went round Thierry Henry’s house one day when #AFC were about to play but Henry turned his TV off when he saw Xhaka was Arsenal captain for the game.
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) December 13, 2020
After the game, Patrice Evra said that it’s not the first time Granit Xhaka has let the club down. Even club legends have lost patience with their former pro, if Evra’s fascinating anecdote is anything to go by.
Recalling a story involving his compatriot Thierry Henry, Evra said:
“I will tell you a quick story. Thierry Henry one day invited me to his house and he said, ‘Come, Patrice, we will watch the Arsenal game.’
“He turned on the TV and the first image he saw on the screen was Xhaka leading the Arsenal team, being the captain. Thierry Henry turned off the TV, I said ‘What’s happened?’
“He said, ‘I can’t watch my team with Xhaka being the captain’. We didn’t watch the game. We started talking about many other things and he turned off the screen.
“That tells you everything about what even legends of this club think about him.”
Another jolt for Xhaka, and for the Gunners.
