Xhaka reams out critics for portraying him as a 'brainless idiot'

Granit Xhaka praised Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for his unconditional trust after critics eviscerated the Swiss midfielder for his unsavoury disciplinary record.

The 24-year-old has come under heavy scrutiny in his first season with the Gunners, as pundits and supporters alike have questioned the player's tendency to dive into tackles with seemingly reckless abandon.

Xhaka earned a four-match Premier League ban in January as a result of a second sending off of the season. Making things worse, the £30-million summer signing accrued five yellow cards in his past six outings.

It doesn't make the constant condemnation any easier to take.

"What hurt me a lot was the source of the criticism and its form. It didn't come from my club, but from former players who don't know me any more than they know Arsenal," Xhaka told Swiss media, according to ESPN FC's Ian Holyman. "People who don't know anything about how I work attacked me by making me look like a brainless idiot and nasty."

Wenger admitted in November that he was "concerned" about Xhaka's lack of discipline - he has received nine red cards for club and country since April 2014 - and said he has to find ways to control himself on the pitch.

But there is complete faith in the former Borussia Monchengladbach man. Following his return from his most recent suspension, Xhaka started in the first leg of Arsenal's last-16 tie at Bayern Munich.

"Arsene Wenger could've given me a better sign of confidence," he said. "After two weeks working with the fitness coach, the coach came to me and took a weight off my shoulders: 'You're playing!'

"You see, such a sending off can, according to the circumstances, change a career. The coach also could very well have said to me that I was a burden on the route to success. He also could have sack me!"