“After 7 years!”: Arsenal star’s hilarious reaction to MOTM award | OneFootball

Granit Xhaka shared a joke with Gabriel Jesus after winning the Man of the Match award for his north London derby performance on Saturday.

Continuing his strong recent run of form, Granit Xhaka killed the game on Saturday by putting Arsenal 3-1 up against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur.

The midfielder also completed 87% of his passes, including all three of his long balls and a good chance for Gabriel Jesus.

The pair had media duties together after the game, with Jesus handing Xhaka the Man of the Match award and joking: “I don’t know how, but congrats!”

Xhaka responded: “Give it to me, after seven years I get the first!”

On scoring in the derby, Xhaka admitted it was a happy moment for him.

“It’s my first (north London) derby goal in England!” he said. “I’m more than happy to help the team, of course. The most important thing is the team. I’m so happy to help the team.”

It was difficult to pick a Man of the Match on the day, with three different goalscorers and a particularly good display from William Saliba at centre-back.

Even Bukayo Saka, who wasn’t directly involved in the goals, did excellently to create five chances despite often being picked up by multiple Spurs defenders.

But after a long wait for the award and with so many good performances lately, there won’t be many fans complaining about Xhaka receiving it on a special day for him.