Garth Crooks has surprisingly admitted that he doesn’t like Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.
This doesn’t seem the most professional piece of work by the BBC Sport columnist, though he did go on to praise Xhaka’s recent form as he named the Switzerland international in his latest Premier League team of the week.
Xhaka has been a player reborn this season, shining as one of the main focal points of Mikel Arteta’s midfield, despite his career looking like hanging by a thread at various points in recent years.
Most notably, the 29-year-old once angered fans by gesturing to them as he left the pitch in a game against Crystal Palace back in 2019, and it seemed unlikely there was a way back for him at that point.
Still, Xhaka is now showing some of his finest form since he moved to the Premier League, and Crooks has given him credit for it, even if he admits he doesn’t feel like he likes him personally.
“I don’t like Granit Xhaka,” Crooks said. “I find him confrontational, overly aggressive and altogether irritating.
“Nevertheless, on his day he’s a very good player. He should have left Arsenal years ago. However, for some reason he has not only stayed at the club, but also occasionally wears the captain’s armband, such is his popularity these days.
“Against Brentford he looked very impressive and so did Arsenal. I would like to know why Brentford didn’t look up for this game, but the Gunners were so good I rather suspect that even if they had it wouldn’t have changed anything – Arsenal were that good. Most worrying.”