Following the 3-2 loss to ​Chelsea, ​Arsenal have now lost the first two games of a ​Premier League season for the first time since 1992/93. Frustration is growing among fans, especially toward midfielder Granit Xhaka.

Xhaka was substituted at half-time against ​Chelsea, replaced by new signing Lucas Torreira. After the match Unai Emery ​explained his decisio​n for the substitution, stating via ​Metro: “It was a tactical decision because he has the yellow card also.

“I think we don’t take risks with this yellow card and also to give the chance to another player in the match.”

Those words accurately describe Arsenal fans’ sentiment toward Xhaka. They feel he no longer belongs in the starting eleven and Torreira should be his immediate replacement. 

Xhaka is in the ​Arsenal fans’ firing line, and the snipes kept flying on Twitter:

Xhaka has yet to earn the trust of Arsenal fans since signing in 2016. He was bought from Borussia Monchengladbach with the hope he’d add steel and composure to the Arsenal midfield, but it hasn’t worked out for him so far at the Emirates. 

Fans were already calling for him to be dropped from the side after Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the first match of the season. 

Arsenal are a team in transition. This is a club clearly trying to take itself forward, away from its recent regrettable past. Change is inevitable now under new manager Unai Emery, and the fans are clearly hoping the next shift will see Xhaka on the substitute bench. 

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After Unai Emery’s Arsenal side were beaten ​3-2 by ​Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, pundit Jamie Redknapp has claimed ​striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the only Gunner who could get close to Maurizio Sarri’s starting lineup.

Redknapp delivered a harsh verdict of Arsenal’s eleven in his weekly column for the ​Daily Mail. In his damning report of Emery’s team he claimed that “not one of their [Arsenal’s] players would get in Maurizio Sarri’s best XI”.

He added: “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the player who would get closest to this [Chelsea] team. He will be a star but when given two big chances on Saturday, he froze.” 

Redknapp wasn’t all criticism though, as the high profile former midfielder added: “Mkhitaryan is the only player Chelsea found it difficult to keep a lid on but he would not play in Sarri’s side ahead of Hazard.”

He was not so complimentary of Granit Xhaka, who was at the heart of Redknapp’s savage evaluation of the away side. 

He wrote: “There was no comparison between the two midfield enforcers. Granit Xhaka’s booking summed him up. He always gets to the tackle too late and does not possess the quality of previous Arsenal midfielders.”

In comparison, the Sky Sports regular praised opposing midfielder Jorginho, stating: “Jorginho looks every bit the midfield general, pulling the strings and dictating play.”

Arsenal will be looking to pick up their first Premier League points of the season when they take on West Ham on Saturday.

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Former England striker Alan Shearer has given a damning appraisal of ​Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, likening the Czech’s passing to ‘a ticking timebomb’.

Writing in his ​Sun column, Shearer was highly critical of manager Unai Emery’s insistence on building from the back.

Shearer wrote: “Emery also has a problem with playing the ball out from the back because Petr Cech is clearly uncomfortable with it. [The crowd] are nervous because it looks like a ticking timebomb when Cech has the ball at his feet.”

Cech had a particularly embarrassing moment against ​Manchester City in Arsenal’s first ​Premier League match of the season, very nearly passing the ball into his own net.

Shearer also compared Cech unfavourably to Manchester City keeper Ederson. “You look at Ederson at City and he is one of the best footballers on the park,” wrote Shearer, adding: “But Cech, as good as a goalkeeper as he is, is being asked to do something that he cannot.”

Arsenal have lost both of their first two ​Premier League games – against City at home and ​​Chelsea away – conceding five goals in the process.

Shearer slammed the Gunners’ defending in ​Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge, describing it as ‘awful’ and explaining: “It’s fine to say you want to play a system. But if the players don’t work in that system then it’s no good.”

Specifically, Shearer argued that Arsenal’s centre backs don’t suit Emery’s preferred approach: “It’s very difficult to play a high line when you have got Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos in central defence, who aren’t blessed with pace,” he wrote.

Nevertheless, the former England striker – who scored a record 260 Premier League goals – urged Arsenal to give Emery time to improve the Gunners. Shearer stressed: “Arsenal are going to have to suffer for a while and, like it or not, they are going to have to be patient.”

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German FA president Reinhard Grindel has admitted that German football’s governing body perhaps went about dealing with the situation regarding Mesut Ozil the wrong way.

The midfielder called curtains on his international career last month, following Die Mannschaft’s disappointing exit from the 2018 World Cup, citing ‘racism and disrespect’ as the overriding factor in his decision.

Ozil had singled Grindel out for criticism, claiming: “In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose.”

The president, though, has denied making a target of the midfielder, but he did admit that the FA made some mistakes when it came to addressing Ozil’s concerns.

“Regarding the racist attacks, I could have taken a clearer position at some points and stood by Mesut Ozil,” Grindel told Bild in a recent interview.

“I should have been clear with my words. Such attacks are completely unacceptable. I regret that he felt deserted by the DFB. It is important to say though, that I said nothing about his sporting performance after the World Cup. For me, it was obvious that we win together and lose together.

“To make an individual player responsible for our exit would be absurd.”

Ozil’s taking of photos with Turkey president Recep Tayyip Ergodan alongside Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan did not go down well with fans, and Grindel has intimated that an explanation from the ​Arsenal man would have done a lot to smooth things over.

“After the photos with president Erdogan, Ilkay Gundogan clearly and understandably made a statement,” he explained.

“I would have liked the same from Ozil, because I know from conversations with fans that they too had questions on the matter.

“That must not be misinterpreted as criticism of his sporting performance. I would have liked such an explanation even if we ended up winning the World Cup.”

Announcing his decision to retire, Ozil posted on ​Twitter in July: “It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.

“But when high-ranking DFB officials treat me as they did, disrespect my Turkish roots and selfishly turn me into political propaganda, then enough is enough.”

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​​Premier League fans have recently revealed who they feel is the better manager between Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri and ​Arsenal’s Unai Emery, courtesy of an online poll for ​Virgin Media. 

Both bosses have only recently been appointed at their respective London clubs, although their starts to life in England’s top flight have began in vastly different circumstances. 

Sarri, formerly of Napoli, has won his first two games in charge of the Blues, having dispatched of ​Huddersfield as well as the Gunners in what proved to be a dramatic 3-2 victory on Saturday evening. 

Emery, who has won a vast amount of silverware at Sevilla and PSG in the past, is yet to see his new charges earn a point this season. In fairness, however, their first two games have been against reigning champions Manchester City and Sarri’s ​Chelsea; a very tough start indeed. 

Despite Saturday’s thrilling spectacle, in which Sarri could very easily be named the better boss out of the two, we’ve decided to give the debate a bit more context, with each of their career achievements being taken into consideration. 

So, it can now be revealed that 58% of voters feel Chelsea’s Italian boss is the better manager, with only 42% plumping for the Gunners’ Spanish coach. 

Throughout each of their respective careers, the pair have been hugely successful. 

Emery managed to win the Europa League for three seasons in a row during his time at Sevilla, winning the European Coach of the Season award for the 2013/14 season. 

At PSG, the 46-year-old led his side to Ligue 1 glory in 2018, whilst also winning six other pieces of silverware at the Parc des Princes. 

Sarri, amazingly, is yet to win a piece of silverware during his managerial career, although he has spent his time coaching Empoli and ​Napoli prior to his move to Stamford Bridge. 

The work he has done at both clubs has been admirable, with his Napoli side running the ever dominant ​Juventus extremely close to the Serie A title last season. 

Despite his lack of silverware, his work at lesser fancied clubs appears to have won over the majority of voters, and quite convincingly it must be said. 

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