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Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka picked up his second Premier League red card against Burnley… but who is the dirtiest player ever?

Swiss star picked up his third red of the season in all comps, but where does he rank amongst the Prem's roughest?

GRANIT XHAKA'S poor start to life in England continued on Sunday when he saw red yet again in Sunday's clash against Burnley.

It was the Swiss star's second red card for the Gunners - and his NINTH in just three seasons, including his Borussia Monchengladbach days - despite only joining in the summer.

Granit Xhaka was shown the red card against Burnley after horror lunge
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Granit Xhaka was shown the red card against Burnley after horror lungeCredit: Getty Images

On top of that, Xhaka, 24, also saw red for Switzerland against Portugal in September, which takes his 2016-17 tally to three.


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In fact, he's picked up as many red cards as he has scored goals this term, as he is now set to miss four games through suspension.

Xhaka will now miss the FA Cup clash with Southampton on January 28 and league games with Watford, Chelsea and Hull City in February.

Granit Xhaka was also sent off in the game against Swansea earlier this year
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Granit Xhaka was also sent off in the game against Swansea earlier this yearCredit: AP:Associated Press

But where does Xhaka rank in the list of the Premier League's dirtiest players?

In terms of quickest to reach a second red card, incredibly, the Arsenal man only ranks joint-tenth, level with ex-Everton hard-man Duncan Ferguson.

Amazingly, former West Ham full-back Tomas Repka earned his second red card in just THREE games.

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Duncan Ferguson also notched his second Premier League red card in his 19th game
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Duncan Ferguson also notched his second Prem red card in his 19th gameCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

In fact, Xhaka is not even the quickest player in the CURRENT Arsenal squad to red cards - after team-mate Laurent Koscielny managed the feat in just eight games.

However, as things stand, the Gunners man does have a worse games per red card record in the top flight than the league's dirtiest players.

In the Prem's history, three players have notched eight sendings-off, while four have tallied seven reds.

Granit Xhaka boasts fewer games per red card than hard-man Vinnie Jones
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Granit Xhaka boasts fewer games per red card than hard-man Vinnie JonesCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Yet even former Wimbledon man Vinnie Jones only averaged a red card every 26 games... As it stands, Xhaka has picked one up every 9.5 games at Arsenal.

That's not only more frequent than Jones, but also infamous foulers such as Patrick Vieira, Lee Cattermole, Roy Keane, Alan Smith and Richard Dunne.

While it's probably too early to be calling Xhaka one of the Premier League's dirtiest players ever, he had better rein it in soon, or risk damaging his reputation even further.

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