Arsenal's Granit Xhaka to face no further action in Heathrow row as police drop racial abuse claims

Metropolitan Police has cleared Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka of racially abusing airline staff at Heathrow Airport as it concluded its inquiries into the allegations. The Switzerland international will face no further action regarding the case.

The incident took place on 23 January when the 24-year-old was at Heathrow's Terminal Five to bid farewell to a friend – German sixth division footballer Leonard Lekaj – who was refused entry on a flight back to Germany after arriving late.

"Police were called at 19:29hrs on Monday, 23 January following an allegation that a member of staff had been racially abused at Heathrow Airport, Terminal Five. The allegation was made by a third party," Met police told Sky Sports.

"Officers attended and spoke with a man in his 20s. He was not arrested. He voluntarily attended a west London police station where he was interviewed under caution. He was released with no further action."

The incident at Heathrow's Terminal Five occurred a day after he was sent-off in the north London club's 2-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates. He was handed a four-match ban by the Football Association and is now available for selection after serving the ban.

Arsenal travel to Germany as they take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 clash on 15 February. Xhaka is in contention to face the Bundesliga winners in the European competition and Arsene Wenger has already issued a warning to the midfielder to control his aggression.

"[It is] more about his technique, I think he's not naturally a great tackler and in his decision-making I think he is quite intelligent on the pitch. But it's more the way he tackles that is not really convincing. He doesn't master well the technique of tackling," Wenger explained.