Arsenal star Granit Xhaka booked AFTER being substituted for running across pitch to celebrate Jorginho winner at Villa
GRANIT XHAKA picked up his 56th Premier League yellow card at Aston Villa – but his latest came AFTER being substituted off.
The Arsenal midfielder, 30, is well used to being told off by referees during his career in England.
But at Villa Park on Saturday, he got through his 79 minutes without having his name taken in ref Simon Hooper’s notebook.
However, that did not prevent Xhaka from getting booked.
Jorginho let fly in the 93rd minute, with his effort crashing down off the bar and bouncing against Emi Martinez’s head into the net to give the Gunners a much-needed winner.
Everyone connected with Arsenal celebrated the fortunate goal wildly – including Jorginho and his fellow players.
But not wanting to miss out on the fun, Xhaka sprinted across the Villa Park pitch to the corner in front of the jubilant away supporters and joined his team-mates in the huddle.
However, a Twitter video shows as the men in black slowly trotted back to their own half for the restart, Xhaka made his way directly across the pitch to the away dugout.
And as he made his sheepish journey back, Hooper brandished the yellow card.
Fans on social media were loving the scenes and hailed Xhaka for his commitment to the cause in the dramatic comeback 4-2 victory which sent their beloved Arsenal back to the top of the table.
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One said: “Xhaka had to run from the bench to come and celebrate this goal… what an incredible team this is.”
Another wrote: “What a day – Xhaka managing to celebrate the opposite side of the pitch after being subbed is brilliant!!”
A third added: “The most beautiful thing about all the celebration videos for the third goal is that Xhaka had to run all the way from the bench to come celebrate.”
And a final user commented: “Xhaka is a leader so he needs to celebrate with his team-mates.”