Xhaka in Trouble After Crashing Arsenal's Top 4 Hopes

Arsenal's hopes of entering next season's Champions League group stage via a top-four finish officially ended on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh earned Arsenal a penalty as he appeared to have fouled Nacho Monreal and the resulting kick by Pierre-Emerick put the Gunners ahead in the ninth minute.

The visitors got their own penalty in the 61st minute, courtesy a ridiculous Granit Xhaka challenge on Solly March. Glenn Murray made no mistake in converting it. Equaliser gained! 1-1.

Despite creating some chances, Arsenal were poor overall which was why a point was all they could get in their final home game of the season.

Fans as usual picked out players to criticize and the major culprit was the one who conceded the foul that put us in danger.

Granit Xhaka has to be the most senseless footballer on earth...too clumsy...no brain whatsoever..

— Olayinka (@ykgunnerz) May 5, 2019

Sometimes, one really don't know what to complain of Xhaka. You can't deny he'd improve, but the slander is warranted.

— MAXIMUM WELLNESS (@Maxwelikechukwu) May 5, 2019

I have backed Xhaka all season, he has improved and he can be a good player to have within the squad, but if we want to move forward we need to invest in someone better.

— MR DT © (@MrDtAFC) May 5, 2019

I have an idea: Repleace Xhaka this summer, SIMPLY AS THAT !!!

— Youn (@youn73) May 5, 2019

Bros i be Arsenal fan but i dont believe in most of these giys any more.

After what xhaka did today.. At first it was mustafi few weeks ago now xhaka

— Kolo Tayo 😍😍💕😎 (@Iamkolotayo) May 5, 2019

It looked deliberate from Xhaka that cunt #ARSBHA

— SunnySayz (@_sunnysayz) May 5, 2019

Feel so sorry for Emery, made to work with dog shit midfielders and defenders. Sokratis and Torreira toughened us up but it's nothing when you've to play them with crock players like Mustafi and Xhaka.

— Gazidis-Gazidat 🔴⚪ (@daniel_jhb) May 5, 2019

I just want to remind everyone that we gave MKhi 200k a week, Ozil 350k a week, Xhaka 100k+ a week, and the small matter of denis Suarez on 105k a week.

Ramsey though....he’s leaving on a free because we can’t afford his wages. None of them fit to lace his boots.

— Jackthegooner (@Jack10Gooner) May 5, 2019

It’s actually quite impressive they were even in the running seeing as Arsenal haven’t addressed their defensive issues in years & still rely way too heavily on Mr. Inconsistent Granit Xhaka.

— Fej Lessur (@FejLessur) May 5, 2019

It’s actually quite impressive they were even in the running seeing as Arsenal haven’t addressed their defensive issues in years & still rely way too heavily on Mr. Inconsistent Granit Xhaka.

— Fej Lessur (@FejLessur) May 5, 2019

I fault Xhaka for that silly tackle, however, we would have recovered if not for the shabby and lacklustre display we brought on from our last three league games. We had about 29 minutes of regular time following Brighton's comeback.

Tottenham Hotspur have dropped to fourth spot due to their loss and Chelsea's victory over Watford. Unai Emery's boys, on the other hand, remain in fifth spot meaning that even if Spurs lose their last game and they win, they'll only be level on points.

At the moment, Mauricio Pochettino's team are ahead with eight goals on GD, and I do not expect any wide-goal win for Arsenal against Burnley.

The only way Arsenal can go to the 2019/28 Champions League is to win the Europa League trophy. A good job already started in the first leg of the semi-final where they beat Valencia 3-1. This puts them at advantage ahead of their trip to Spain for the return leg on Thursday.