Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka branded a ‘coward’ as he appears to DUCK under Scott McTominay’s opener for Man Utd

ARSENAL fans slammed new captain Granit Xhaka for appearing to duck underneath Scott McTominay's opener for Manchester United.

The Red Devils midfielder lashed in from outside the box at the end of a turgid first half in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

Arsenal eventually equalised in a 1-1 draw lacking quality, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang almost having his goal ruled out for offside before VAR intervened.

But not before eagle-eyed Gunners supporters had slammed their "cowardly" captain - who they say could have prevented the opener.

One fan wrote: "Xhaka is a coward. Club captain unwilling to have the ball hit him. Shameful."

Another fumed: "Xhaka is a joke. What sort of a captain ducks like that! He's a liability and a coward."

Xhaka, 27, was named Arsenal's full-time captain this week after boss Unai Emery polled his squad.

WILL PAYNE Granit Xhaka is Arsenal’s worst captain ever… anybody who rates him knows nothing about football, including Unai Emery

But the Swiss midfielder - who joined the Gunners in 2016 - immediately proved to be an unpopular choice with supporters.

And Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was quick to question Xhaka's commitment during the half-time break.

The Liverpool legend said: "I don’t know why [he ducked].

"You don’t want the ball to hit you in the face - and it does come quick at him - but that thing of putting your arms behind and your head down I don’t think is right."

But, incredibly, former United hardman Roy Keane defender the Arsenal skipper.

Keane said: "It does come at him pretty quick. I’d be quite happy to criticise him but it does go quick at him."