Arsenal midfield star Granit Xhaka is set to miss their final Europa League group stage clash against FC Zurich after picking up a suspension for reaching the maximum number of yellow cards. The Swiss midfielder earned another card against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday for trying to hurry Xavi Simons off for his substitution with the Gunners trailing and time winding down.
It came after a frustrating clash for the Gunners, who were far from their best in the Netherlands in search of guaranteeing top spot in the group. A difficult first half saw some warning signs for the visitors with a couple of disallowed goals for offside against Simons and Cody Gakpo.
They were made to pay in the second half though as Joey Veerman capped off a swift move from PSV against a sleeping Arsenal backline. The lead was shortly doubled after Aaron Ramsdale flapped at a corner and missed a punch, allowing Luuk de Jong to head home.
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It means the Gunners have to match the result of PSV in their final group game to make sure they go through as group winners rather than runners up. While in previous seasons that hasn't meant much other than who is drawn against each other, the rule change in the competition means that an extra game is played by the second-placed side against a team that drops from the Champions League.
The clash comes against FC Zurich, though they will be without Xhaka for it which could represent a potential blow to their chances. However, with progression through the group already secured, the suspension could come as a blessing in disguise for the Gunners.
That's because the suspension threshold carries through until later in the competition, so if the 30-year-old was to avoid a booking against PSV but picked it up against Zurich, he would be unavailable for the first knockout stage match - whether that's round of 32 or 16. His loss there would be felt much more keenly than perhaps against their next opposition, who Mikel Arteta would be hopeful a rotated side could overcome.
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