Unai Emery has explained in-depth why he finally made the decision to appoint Granit Xhaka club captain.
The situation has been rumbling on since the summer and the departure of Laurent Koscielny, but despite the Frenchman leaving on August 8th, it’s taken the best part of two months for the Spaniard to officially replace him.
His choice of the Swiss international comes at a time when the player’s relationship with the fans is in a difficult period, with frustrations over his on-pitch errors causing some friction.
However, after allowing his players to vote for their own choice, Emery made Xhaka captain and at his press conference this afternoon he explained why.
“First, he is mature and he has experience and we are all living all the time under pressure, under criticism as coaches, as players, as a club,” he said.
“The most important thing is to stand up in each moment, go ahead and to show his quality, with his behaviour, with his commitment and in the dressing room the players voted for him as the first.
“After, I spoke with him and we want to change that opinion outside because that respect that he has inside the dressing room is very, very important.
“Each match for him, for me, for everybody, is a very good opportunity to show our capacity.
“I trust and believe in him and he is a good man, a good professional and a good player. Sometimes he has made a mistake, yes, but the most important thing is to analyse, to learn and to correct that in the future.
“His challenge, and our challenge, is to change that opinion and above all, show personality and improve in each match and give us his help every time.
“The first match is on Monday at Manchester United.”
This decision may make perfect sense from the inside. From the outside it doesn’t. It does seem to imply that we’ll have a gaffe prone, slow moving mid-fielder who can’t tackle and doesn’t track back competently playing at the Old T.
“[W]e’ll have a gaffe prone, slow moving mid-fielder who can’t tackle and doesn’t track back competently playing at the Old T.”
You’re right, and Guendouzi probably will even start. But cut him a break, please, he’s still learning the game. At least he doesn’t have to play with the pressure of being captain, eh?
I share the concerns over Emery’s tinkering & failure to recognize something material needs to change in terms of defense & how the midfield is constructed. BUT some of the moaning by fans has just gotten absolutely ridiculous. To see people calling for Emery’s head on here only a few months in – many simply b/c he wasn’t playing their favorite player & trying to spin narratives of how he has it out for Ozil or has always done this. Or complaining about young players who have shown a lot of promise such as this person is doing. I am… Read more »
I hoped he would succeed as well but he isn’t and he won’t. Not by any meaningful measure where we will want to see him stay on. Arsenal was an incredibly attractive job about 3 years before Wenger left, I feel. Emery is just making things very hard for himself and for the players and for the fans. It’s his right to pick a team each week that no one else would, play people out of their best positions and make our players uncomfortable on the ball with strange and often unnecessary tactics. But he opens himself up to criticism… Read more »
AGGREED!!!…and very well put…I give Emery a thumbs up…NOT an easy job…besides…he still goes ole skool to the matches..in his collar n tie!!!…RESPECT!!
If Liverpool could attract Klopp, then we can attract anyone too. I think people here have started undermining the brand of The Arsenal just because not playing in the Champions League is a new experience for us.
A few months in? Mate, he’s been managing Arsenal for over a season now and we’re arguably playing worse now than at the same time last season.
One thing that has plagued Emery since taking over has been major injuries, especially on defense. Both Hector and Holding missed a large portion of last year, and at the time of their injuries, we were not playing that poorly defensively. On that front, with the above two almost back full time, and Tierney ready to make an impact, I don’t think we should give up on Arsenal doing well in the league or other tournaments. On the fence with the guy, but with the team getting back to full strength, (cross fingers no more long term outs) lets see… Read more »
You say he has it out for Ozil? I say our front 4 of Ozil, Ramsey, Lacazette and Aubameyang was Wenger’s parting gift to our club, our fans, and our incoming coach. And what Emery did was set out to dissolve this excellence in hopes of bolstering his ego by creating something distinctively “him”. Unfortunately this did not, and continues to not, work out in his favour. In the best interests of the club and the supporters we must ensure we begin next season with a better suited manager/coach. I love Emery as a man, I love his dedication, his… Read more »
Don’t agree with the decision regarding Xhaka and don’t agree with the way it was done. but let’s chill out regarding Guendouzi – he is young, talented and passionate which is more than can be said about certain other players on mega bucks at the club. We will get a result at OT irrespective of who wears the armband.
Announcing this before the United game guarantees he will play. Which is really deflating.
,And a captain who said “we are scared of Watford”
What he said was “we were scared” You can read into that however you want. Personally I think he meant, we were too uncomfortable to play our game. Plus it is hard to disagree with him on the performance.
“Important that he learns from his mistakes”
Does he though?
He won’t learn, trust me. Give it 3 months and they will vote for another capitan. He will continue to make mistakes, under performe, and let us down. The fans will turn on him, boo him, and our manager will look like a fool. 3 months max!!!!
in 3 months, i hope both are out
Are you a fan? In three months, I hope we haven’t lost a game since late September, have figured out a really strong formation, have got the blend between experience and youth right, and have reintegrated Holding and Bellerin into the meanest defense in the English game. Call me old-fashioned, but as a fan I want my team to do really well. #COYG.
Make that since early September or whenever it was we lost to Poo.
Hear hear
Again, if you have to explain and justify your choice of captain then something is seriously wrong. Whatever leadership qualities he might have is seriously undermined by his lack of quality as a aye. How do you respect your captain when he seem unable to learn from his mistakes, and cost the team goals and points. Having to defend your choice of captain puts a serious question about Emery judgement of people and players
Exactly what I was thinking. Can’t ever recall the likes of this, but happy to be shown a parallel.
It is what it is, I guess. Just hope it’s not made him undropable in Unai’s eyes.
Not quite the same but Gallas was a pretty unpopular choice as well. So this kind of nonsense is not unprecedented.
Even so… why Unai.
Arteta, (2 great seasons for us) no pace, was being caught lacking and arriving late to big moments that cost us goals. Wenger made him captain but what we really needed was a quick agile defensive mid, coq was almost the answer because although he was never artetas level he had pace to get where he should be. Same situation.
To be fair you can’t blame one player for costing us games. You could also argue that he has played a key part in games we have won. Emery is asking him to play a position and role that doesn’t get the best out of him and this is what is costing us games. Start Torreira with Xhaka and we’ll be ok. I think.
“To be fair you can’t blame one player for costing us games. You could also argue that he has played a key part in games we have won”
You probably haven’t watched Luiz play since he joined then.
individual player who is red card prone and gives away penalties regularly will singularly cost you games, mind you losing 5 games in season automatically puts a team out of championship contention.
I’m afraid this decisions adds a nail in Emery’ s coffin for me. Nice guy and good manager but not what Arsenal need moving forward
Yeah Gooner Sam, my sentiment exactly. I think there is a lot of us that feel like you. I was happy to give him time. But we have been clueless, shapeless and he’s given captaincy to one of the main culprits of our inadequacies. Arseblog or Arsenal Vision maybe talked about how this ties Xhaka to the frustration about Emery. I think for many of us, its actually the inverse. This ties Emery to Xhaka, whose ship had sailed many seasons ago.
Morons and keyboard warriors make it a necessity to explain every decision.
So he is starting against United. Wow. Inspite of all the mistakes.
And people used to chastise Wenger for not dropping non-performers
Red Sky posted this on the previous post;
“The performance is giving me the next first XI, the next players to play, not the captains.”
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/arsenal-press-conference-live-unai-16991217
I checked and more than a few websites are quoting Emery telling the press that the next eleven will be selected based on performances and not armbands.
But its peculiar that Arseblog chose to leave out such a significant comment, one that could moderate to an extent the fanbase’s reaction towards this captaincy decision by Emery
If Emery did say this and Arseblog deliberately chose to leave out this comment on 2 consecutive posts about the captaincy decision, then I would sadly be forced to conclude this as irresponsible journalism at the least.
We’ll see if Emery is a man of his word. Would be good to see this.
What do I know about journalism?
I know a thing or two about captains though.
Assuming you are an average Arsenal fan, you live so far away from North London that you can’t attend matches. Now, where do u get that raw data to reach your precise and accurate insights about Arsenal captains?
I suppose you’d want that raw data to be accurate too, lest it cloud your judgement on the captaincy issues.
Arseblog is biased towards Luiz, Ozil and Mustafi. Add Emery to the list.
That line was meant for Ozil only and Xhaka is obviously excluded. If you want proof, look at the decisions made since Unai’s been here. Xhaka hasn’t been tracking back greatly, mostly lets his man run through him, if at all he arrives in the box you have to be worried about him conceding a penalty and his assist stats are not the greatest, hasn’t controlled the midfield against top teams in big matches, yet he gets to start almost always…. So, that line holds no significance at all to Xhaka – a lot of times journalism is not just… Read more »
So he’s starting against United. Fuck me looks like Emery won’t learn his lesson and if he’s happy enough to fall on this Xhaka shaped sword so be it.
Just hope he doesn’t cost us Auba or Lacca who I don’t think will fancy another year in the Europa League.
Spot on comment
Amusa. I take your point and agree. But I take issue with the metaphor. A Xhaka shaped sword would miss.
Urgh
For fucks sake, is there a fan base that lays into its own players as much as ours?
He’s not my first choice either. But the invective about this is utterly over the top.
Yeah he has his faults like many players, it’s up to the management to mitigate them and get the best from him, or ultimately get rid. And until then he’s ours.
midgunner. Is there a fan base that has watched the same errors being made by the same players season after season after season only to watch those same players get lucrative rewards while the club stagnates, decays and other clubs overtakes us? I think we whinge a lot and it is annoying, but at this stage with Xhaka, its a farce.
I agree wholeheartedly. Seeing how stars fade when they come to the PL from Spain, Italy and Germany tells us this is a very hard league indeed. Arsenal is currently fourth. Granit has started all games. Per definition, he is a world class midfielder. He is also a fighter and a Gunner. Let’s rally around the team. COYG!
I ‘ve seen Bale and a bunch of top notch players being booed for far less errors than Xhaka’s at the benabeau by their own fans. Of course we can’t compete with them financially but must we be content with mediocrity?
Yeah Real Madrid with Bale was bad. Looks like we’re mediocre even with laying into our players! ?
Real is a very low bar for fan base respect. Perhaps the lowest you can get.
Personally that’s the last club I want to be compared to in that regard.
Weird to see a man choose his own poison this way.
Xhaka will finish Emery.
Aren’t these the same exact quotes from the earlier article?
If both Xhaka and Guendouzi are starting against United, I don’t think I can watch. Nothing against Guendouzi per say, but the two of them together are incompatible and just maddeningly slow. Meanwhile, Torreira’s gonna get fed up soon and bail on this team. An actual DM! Lucas, not Granit, should be the deepest lying midfielder, period. I don’t see how it’s so damn obvious to fans/pundits alike while watching the same turgid mess in the midfield every week, but not to Emery. If those two start and we don’t take 3 points from OT, it’s 100% the manager’s fault,… Read more »
Emery sees something that we don’t. However if only he would try for once to drop Xhaka for once and start Torreira as the DM for a PL game, it will be an eye opener either for Emery or those of us who believe Xhaka should be dropped.
Emery sees something that we don’t. I don’t think so. What we know is that whatever Emery think he sees, we do not see it in the same way.
I think Emerys done over this.
exactly!
Was it not the players who choose the captain??? People!? We gotta except, get behind, and move on.
Inexplicable.
Sad Gunnersaurus.
Wish Gunnersaurus was captain.
I’ve never seen that fat dino track back or put in a tackle. When he goes in goal he can’t even save a penalty “struck” by a five year old.
Should be a perfect captain then
Nicking a living!
I don’t necessarily agree with this Granit captaincy thing 100%, but damn it’s so so weird seeing so may fans cry about it like babies.
I don’t think people care that much about who’s captain, normally, but it’s a bit of an eye-roller when an error-prone, immobile, one-footed problem player gets appointed Club Captain after a string of mostly woeful showings, embarrassing post-match comments, and fan unrest. It’s just the timing, it feels ironic or comical or whatever.
I should have clarified in my above comment that I couldn’t give a shit if Xhaka’s captain or not, I just don’t wanna watch him play midfield with Guendouzi ever again.
I think people di have a right to criticism him and I do to, but this anti Xhaka thing has gone overboard. As per your comment I completely agree, I also don’t fancy a Granit Guen midfield.
You’re right, it has gone overboard, as fan criticism will do. I actually can see how Xhaka could be good under a different system, but Emery seems to want this quick-transition, pressing style, and that is just 100% not suited to Xhaka.
Maybe a different manager with a more methodical, possession based approach could make Xhaka a real player, but on this current team with this current manager, he’s basically being set up to look terrible. The system plays to his weaknesses.
Xhaka can’t be relied upon to win the ball or retain it. Consequently he’s a key reason why we are no longer a possession based team.
Nobody could “be relied upon to win the ball or retain it”. Football is not that kind of game.
But I think you touch upon an important point with Emery’s playing style. I think he clearly wants to play more possession, and in this he sees Xhaka as important. To us, Xhaka seems to slow down the play, but I think he is under orders to prioritize keeping the ball in the team, building the attack, rather than taking risks going forward at an early stage.
Again I agree. Which is why I think the hundreds of insults I’ve seen addressed him are out of order.
You’re right but ignore those and focus on the proper fan comments who just want debate. There will always be extremists unfortunately. I just don’t get the decision he makes errors, is slow and I never see him getting the best of the players around him, so the decision is odd at best, inept at worst
You agree that Xhaka doesn’t work on the system we’re trying to play but wonder why fans are upset that he’s likely solidified playing regularly? What am I missing?
You obviously weren’t heart broken by the Brighton penalty last season.
Sure it was THE ONE AND ONLY reason we didnt make top four… Come on… (I agree it was an idiotic penalty to concede don’t get me wrong)
It was one good reason though.
I think the issue is that a large majority don’t think the guy should even be in the starting eleven. Making him captain almost guarantees his place every week no matter how rubbish he is.
This is getting annoying now. Can’t bear to watch Xhaka in another match. Silly yellow card, clumsy fouls and mistakes that might lead to goals. It’s the same damn thing again and again!
He will start at United then he will sit on the bench second half for the vice captain to raise the game without him. He can captain the bench ?
Emery is a buffoon.
Sooner he is gone the better…
Well the hopes of me wanting xhaka sold in the January window, is as they say, out the window
FFS! Dead men walking.
Support the team & support the captain! Xhaka looks like a world beater for Switzerland and often in our European games. He seems like the model professional respected by his team mates ( but apparently not all ” supporters”). I think he passes well and does not shun responsibility. With his shot he should get more goals. I think he lacks the pace for the Premiership. To be fair though. I think he needs Torreira beside him and two better centre backs behind him. One Holding and Torreira are regulars ( which they should be) then let’s see how he… Read more »
Perspective required also. Guendozi is very very promising & talented. He also vi es 100 per cent but is he ever lambasted (e.g. after Watford performsnce)?
he was after that game, maybe not as much as his senior peers, but a) they are more experienced and b) guendouzi responded with that MOTM performance at villa.
Wasn’t a previous player vilified and ridiculed for making mistakes early in his career. I imagine nowadays he would be called a donkey on here.
My takeaway from this is that the ball is now firmly in Xhaka’s court, in every sense of the word, since he now has the complete and very public backing of the manager. More errors simply won’t be tolerated, he has to step up fully or find himself at risk of being moved on.
To me that’s an idea lol win-win for us fans.
This is as absurd as when the Frenchman, Seb Squillaci was given the nod by ‘I didn’t see it” Wenger for that all-important-match. I guess it’s the old cliché of it’s not what you know (or do) but who know. Ahhh nepotism – going strong in the 21st Century.
I will try to be mature about this. I am not a big fan of his game, and I was hoping that he would not be chosen, but I want to have my instincts proven wrong. If Xhaka turns out to be a good captain that means we will succeed, and I will happily embrace a change is disposition towards him. If he fails as a captain, I will take no joy, as it likely means a poor season for the team. I don’t agree with this choice. Something in my gut tells me it is wrong, but I am… Read more »
Whether Emery speaks English or Spanish what is consistent is tjat it’s always indecipherable jargon. I don’t even bother trying to understand this guy anymore and just skim read what he says.
Xhaka as a captain…. This guy.
Emery has tied himself to the mast of a sinking ship. Can’t see either of them here for much longer. For all we don’t like Xhaka, he is actually fungible which makes it even more likely we will show him the door.
It’s all a bit irrelevant now. The players voted and they obviously want him, the manager appointed him, so he obviously wants him and so the deed is done! It’s now not an issue anymore. Whether we, the fans, agree or not is neither here nor there ….Xhaka is now captain of our side. We don’t see the different sides of him off of the pitch, we don’t know why the players voted for him as their main man or what they think makes him stand out from everyone else but what we do know is, from this point on,… Read more »
A mediocre coach appointing a mediocre player as captain. This is peak mediocrity for Arsenal and it’s becoming more and more frustrating to watch.
I wonder, how many of those in this comment section attend games on the regs, as opposed to watching them on the TV? I ask because most of you sound like complete and utter wankers.
I attend 3-4 games a year, and see most of the others on tv. We out-of-towners normally get tickets high up in the curves. There, you get a very good overview, but it’s hard to even read the numbers on the jerseys.
Sometimes, I sit with the regulars on the lower ledges along the sides. Here, you get the best of both worlds, both the overview and the close ups. And you can participate in booing and ooohing. But generally, if you want to understand and analyze the game, football these days is best on tv.
Well we can kiss goodbye to forth place!!! I don’t dislike Xhaka but he is not the future of our midfield, certainly shouldn’t be as he is way too ponderous, so making him captain means we are hindering the progress of Tor, Guen and Willock as our mainstay in midfield!!! Emery is increasingly make me doubt his suitability for arsenal manager!!!
Also with Xhaka nailed on to start against manure, it makes you wonder what the first 11 will look like against??? I had hoped chambers, torreira, douzi and willock would be starting, but fear it will be Xhaka and Luiz ahead of one of the four I just mentioned!!! Play your best team based on who is fit to play: Leno, amn, chambers, sok, kola, Toreria, Douzi, Willock, Pepe, Auba and Ceballos or Ozil!!! Luiz and Xhaka should NOT be starting!!!
It’s no big deal, but the captain should ideally exemplify the team, the way it plays and its attitude on the pitch. In particular, the captain should inspire the others to continue the fight in adverse circumstances and install the belief that a victory is still possible. Xhaka is a useful player in some games. Strong, with a high work ethic. He also has a pretty good overview over the game and sometimes makes good forward passes. But he is slightly circumstantial, slow and he commits nasty fouls. He is also grumpy on the pitch. He does not come around… Read more »
One of the biggest issues in the latter years of Wenger’s reign was a lack of accountability. No one was ever held to account for poor performances, for mistakes, for costing the team with stupid decisions. To reward Xhaka with the capitancy despite his inability to improve, and actually having potentially better players in his position, is just continuing that trend. Additionally, the main role of a captain is to provide on the field leadership, to be the voice of the manager on the pitch, to guide younger players through a game and maintain a good team mentality. But how… Read more »
The reason for the team vote is simple. Emery doesn’t feel comfortable making the decision on his own in fear of fan backlash. So he had a vote amongst the players and Xhaka came out on top. So now, Emery has cover from the squad for the decision he already wanted to make, and less ire from the fans directed solely at him. I think it’s quite clever. Xhaka clearly offers something to the club that we fans on the outside don’t see. He’s vocal and quite a character in the dressing room. If the squad + manager think he’s… Read more »
I didnt bother reading his quotes. Life is too short. His idiocy has peaked surely……
I don’t care about his captaincy-thing or whatever. By choosing him as the first captain, there will be no chance for an actual substitution. The “90 mins with Xhaka” is my humble concern.
Smells like bad decision
Emery needs to read a book called “the captain class”. It describes (statistically) the worlds most successful sporting teams/dynasty’s and concludes that it is the greatness of the captain (personally and performance wise) that is the determining factor making a great team truly world class. Enough said.
Hopefully he wont go sliding into the tackle to concede apenalty. And Emery shdnt be so cavalier on the attack like Wenger. I read about injury ravaged MU team that mauled Wenger 8-2 and saw rf putting a comforting arm over the fm.That sickens me. Brazil were the best 1982 team not to have won the wc. Why?According to wiki,they needed only a draw to get to the final. Instead they went kamikaze on the attack and were ripped off by Italy’s sucker punch. This shd be alesson to all coaches. Underestimate your opponent at your peril. 13 years is… Read more »
I’m concerned about the the fact teams like Watford can bully us when they should be buried. I’m also very concerned about the new captain.
On the flip side, I think the manager deserves the whole season to show what he can do with all the new signings, signings who have barely had a chance to settle in, not played or have big hair and despite being error prone can be pretty decent at times too.
Let’s see where we are in May and make the judgement then.