Just one minute and six seconds into today’s eagerly-anticipated north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, Granit Xhaka set the fiery tone with a foul.
Harry Kane drove forward in space, Xhaka’s plan to stop the clinical England captain from firing off a long-range shot or playing a dangerous pass was to simply completely run into the superstar.
Xhaka dove straight across the forward’s body, sending him crashing to the floor and leaving the referee with no choice but to blow the whistle. The Arsenal midfielder was lucky to come away without a yellow.
Pictures from Sky Sports.
All things considered, Arsenal fans really can’t complain much about this, it stopped Kane from using the space to show off his killer shooting ability.