Granit Xhaka thinks broadcaster Richard Keys is a bit of a bellend.
That’s our main takeaway after the Switzerland international defended Arsenal’s jubilant celebrations in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Fulham.
As has been well-documented the hairy-handed adulterer (allegedly) – famously fired by Sky Sports for sexist comments – labelled the Gunners “embarrassing” for enjoying a few back slaps and smiles after a job well done.
Clearly looking for attention, beIN Sports’ chief numpty then doubled down on his initial comments with a blog post that saw his fierce dislike of Mikel Arteta shine as brightly as his pink beach-ball-shaped face.
“Listen, the people maybe they forget sometimes,” said Xhaka when asked about the comments.
“I have been in Switzerland, I have been in Germany, I know the leagues and the Premier League is totally different.
“You can play against the last [team] and you will struggle for 90 minutes. You don’t have a team here that gives up. It doesn’t matter if they are 3-0 up or 3-0 down, they go for 90 minutes.
“You have respect for every club and the people if they say that we can’t celebrate because it was Fulham, they don’t respect the Fulham team.
“You saw them as well yesterday, they won again [against Brighton]. They have lost only against us in five games, I think.
“So give them some credit, give them some respect – not only Fulham, but every team that comes here or we go away to, because you will struggle against every team if you are not 100 per cent ready for them.
“If you don’t celebrate, they say to us: ‘Why don’t you celebrate?’ If we celebrate, they say: ‘Why do you celebrate?’ So sometimes you can’t make everyone happy.
“But this is our job, this is what we want to do. We celebrate if we win, it doesn’t matter against who.”
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For the record, Arseblog News columnist Graham Dougan, a regular golfing buddy of Keys, has distanced himself from the introduction to this piece.
Well fucking said Granit
Precisely. Massive disrespect of Fulham. I watched the clip and felt really sorry for Nigel De Jong. He is sat between those two …
Love it 👏👏👏
Keys is a nobody, he obviously fails to see the significance of the manner in which Arteta has formed this squad’s attitude=performances=fan respect=perfomances. he can’t see the bigger picture cos he’s not a fan….
Must be Keys with the downvote. You’re a cocksplat, Richard
is “cocksplat” free to use for all? I’ve been looking for a replacement for “dicksplash” for 25 years
I would like to read Graham Dougan’ honest opinion on this enormous affair in his highly rated column!
He wouldn’t want to upset his golfing buddy.
https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1565081928772067331
You love to see it!
A storm (or rather a story) in a teacup, isn’t it? I’m sure Arsenal have other things to concentrate on, not least Utd on Sunday and an increasing injury list, rather than silly comments from a disgraced broadcaster.
By the way, we’ve finally ended the long-running Bellerin saga by (guess what) terminating his contract! It was the only real option as he’s another on the list of the “unwanted of Arsenal”, but we must be close to setting some sort of PL record for contract terminations in a season.
As far as I’m aware, we didn’t terminate his contract. We gave him a free transfer instead, which is why we were able to insert a sell-on clause in the deal.
Yes, you’re right. The earlier report that we had actually terminated his contract was what I referred to. The later report, which you mentioned, is a better deal and one that Edu (and Bellerin, who apparently played a big part in removing problems around wages etc. which other players haven’t done) should be congratulated. That said, I’m sure we are still in the running for the “contracts terminated” prize.
Haha, I feel sorry for Mr Dougan with a golf buddy that grumpy
Richard Keys is a sad fat pervert, who sleazily slept with his daughter’s friend and lost his job at Sky for inappropriate language aimed at a female linesman. The guy is a piece of work; his clear hatred of Arsenal Football Club has been well documented over the years and this latest pathetic episode merely underlines his inability to carry out his current role as a supposed impartial sports commentator for the latest broadcasting organisation daft enough to employ him. The guy is a loser. And knowing that our victory against Fulham clearly upset him is as hilarious as it… Read more »
Just a small footnote: as I recall, the assistant referee that he and Grey were making fun of (unknown to them on a hot mic) was Sian Massey. I think she was the absolute best in England.
Hahahahahaaaaaaaa. Adulterous
Pink-beach ball shaped face scums.
Who gave them the right to how we celebrate?
Pundering pundits
I’d really like it if Granit did call Richard Keys a bellend.
We should probably do a minute’s silence for every goal and then one more after the final whistle to mourn the lost points of the opponents.
Isn’t the first bit var?
Apart from the idiocy of the celebration issue, I think this is another glimpse of Xhaka’s role in the squad–as a spokesman and defender of the team. I also noticed that in the tunnel before the Villa game, he and Martinez hugged. Whatever you think of Martinez’ conduct since he left (he acted like a prick in my opinion), I think it’s telling that it was Xhaka he still felt close to. I think that, just like he told us when he arrived, Xhaka really is a natural leader.
Quality response from xhaka – love it
I love the introduction irrespective of what anyone thinks. Graham Dougan can move aside.
Spot on, Xhaka. It’s nobody business how we chose to react to our hard earned victory on the pitch. It’s just sour grapes. We move on together to glory. They ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s morning yet on creation day at the Arsenal. Our paths shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
We laugh, we celebrate, we rejoice as much as we want/chose. Victory in harmony. COYG!!!!
https://twitter.com/ESPNUK/status/1565089982926229506 we celebrate how we want!