A seething Granit Xhaka laid into his Arsenal teammates after their disastrous defeat at Newcastle and said they did not “have the balls to play” as their Champions League hopes all but disappeared.
Arsenal must beat Everton on Sunday and hope Tottenham lose at relegated Norwich if they are to make the top four; they were soundly beaten at St James’ Park by a Ben White own goal and a late clincher from Bruno Guimarães, and Xhaka’s extraordinary intervention was almost certainly born of frustration at letting a golden opportunity slip.
