Granit Xhaka IS a dirty player… almost half of the tackles he’s made this year have ended up being fouls
Midfielder has a worse disciplinary record over the last three seasons than legendary footy hardman Vinnie Jones
IT has been a miserable week for Arsenal's Granit Xhaka.
In the space of 24 hours the hot-headed midfielder picked up yet another red card in the win over Burnley before being accused of racial slurs during an incident at Heathrow Airport.
Arsene Wenger seemed to have little concern over the Xhaka race row when questioned during Thursday's press conference but the Frenchman did have some words of wisdom over his tackling.
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Wenger was begrudgingly forced to admit the £32million man wasn't 'naturally a great tackler' and will be 'encouraging him not to tackle' in the future.
And he may have a valid point.
His recent red was his NINTH in three seasons - a worse record than legendary Wimbledon, Chelsea, Leeds, Sheffield United and QPR hardman Vinnie Jones.
Vinnie held the record for the quickest ever booking in a football match - he was once carded just three seconds after kick-off.
In 1987, he was photographed grabbing Paul Gascoigne by the testicles whilst playing for Wimbledon against Newcastle United.
Xhaka's red card count is no surprise considering his ridiculously high foul count.
According to stats from Opta, Xhaka has made 52 tackles this season but has conceded a staggering 24 fouls meaning nearly one in every two challenges results in a free-kick to the opposition.
Granit Xhaka Opta tackling stats
Games played - 19
Tackles - 52
Tackles per game - 2.74
Fouls conceded - 24
Fouls per game - 1.26
Yellow cards - 2
Red cards - 2
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Although his challenges border between clumsy and reckless, it will be the latter that infuriates his manager and supporters more.
His two-footed lunge on Steven Defour on Sunday means the Switzerland international will now miss next four matches including an away clash to title rivals Chelsea on February 4.
That leaves just Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey as viable options in central midfield and Arsenal fans will know that the duo don't compliment each other well.
With his high price-tag, Xhaka must mature both on and off the field and learn to curb his discipline - he is putting Arsenal's season ambitions in major doubt.