Watch Granit Xhaka score comical own goal to give Juventus the lead in Arsenal friendly
THIS is the moment Granit Xhaka scores a comical own-goal in Arsenal’s 2-0 friendly defeat to Juventus.
The unfortunate incident occurred during first-half injury time as the Gunners crashed to a rare loss.
ARSENAL FC 0-1 JUVENTUS
— All goals replay (@goalsreplayg) December 17, 202245+1' Granit Xhaka (Own Goal
) | (#Juventus)pic.twitter.com/USYMx2vJ2o
Xhaka returned to Arsenal’s starting XI today following Switzerland’s World Cup adventure.
But he made an impact at the wrong end of the pitch while defending against a Juve attack.
As Arsenal players made themselves busy in their own box, the Italians pushed forward down the right wing before sending in a curled cross.
One Gunner jumped high in the air before missing the ball.
But Xhaka was not so fortunate as he too tried an aerial clearance.
The midfielder dinked his head against the ball as it was whipped in by Juventus.
However, instead of rebounding back outside the box, it instead went sailing past Aaron Ramsdale and into Arsenal’s net.
Xhaka looked distraught as he realised his mistake was a costly one.
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And Juventus rubbed salt in the wound by gleefully celebrating in front of the Emirates faithful.
Fans were quick to respond online, with one saying: “Xhaka is sure gonna beat himself up over that.”
Another declared: “We can’t fail to talk about it. What’s wrong with Xhaka?”
One noted: “Xhaka is a loose cannon. A red card waiting to happen.”
Another added: “It’s been a while since Xhaka acted like Xhaka. I missed this.”
To make matters worse, Xhaka’s header was followed up by a Rob Holding own-goal late on.
The centre-back turned in a shot from Juve’s Samuel Illing-Junior to give the visitors a 2-0 victory.
But things could have turned out differently had Eddie Nketiah taken a clear chance before Xhaka’s error.
The striker missed a glaring open goal which would have put his side in control.
However, Nketiah fired his effort off the post and wide.
It’s certainly not what Mikel Arteta wanted to see, especially with first-choice Gabriel Jesus out for around three months.