Tony Adams: What I really think of Granit Xhaka at Arsenal
Tony Adams has his say on Unai Emery's team selection for Arsenal's 2-0 loss to Man City
Tony Adams has admitted that he is not Granit Xhaka’s biggest fan and says he would have preferred to have seen Lucas Torreira start for Arsenal against Manchester City at the weekend.
The new Arsenal manager raised some eyebrows with his team selection on Sunday as he opted to leave new signings Torreira and Bernd Leno on the bench as the Gunners slumped to a disappointing 2-0 loss to the defending Premier League champions at The Emirates.
Torreira came on as a second half substitute during the game as he made his Premier League debut, but he was unable to help the Gunners find a way back into the match.
And former Arsenal captain Adams has admitted that he was perplexed by Emery’s decision to start Xhaka and not his new signing for Sunday’s showdown at The Emirates.
Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, Adams said: Granit [Xhaka] is not for me. The lad Torreira came on, he looked tiny, but we’ve missing that role, missing that guy in front of the back four,
“He [Torreira] looks intelligent, he looks like he can protect, there’s been little ones in the past – Didier Deschamps, [N’Golo] Kante is doing a fantastic job for France and Chelsea and I think he [Torreira] might be able to do it for us.
“But start with them. Go with your goalkeeper Leno, put him in goal.
“I love Petr Cech, he’s a lovely guy and he’s been a great pro, but come on, let’s go with the new guy, let’s work with them.
“Get your back four in, get Torreira in, and let’s go for it.”
Torreira will be hoping to start for Arsenal when the Gunners return to Premier League action on Saturday evening with a crunch clash against Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge.
The north London side will be hoping to break back into the top four this season after they finished sixth and without a trophy last term.
