Friday, December 13, 2024

Emery says Xhaka ‘devastated’ – but won’t say if he retains captaincy

Almost 48 hours after the incident which saw Granit Xhaka storm from the Emirates pitch in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, there has been no word from the Swiss international about what happened.

Regardless of what you think about the treatment he got, his behaviour was at odds with the role of Arsenal captain.

Today, in a press conference ahead of the Carabao Cup game with Liverpool tomorrow, Unai Emery says the 27 year old is ‘devastated’, understands that he was wrong, and that he suggested he apologise for his actions.

To date, that apology has not been forthcoming, despite the club’s attempts to make it happen in a series of meetings and phone calls since Sunday evening.

“He is now devastated, sad,” said Emery via Football London. “We spoke yesterday and Sunday night and this morning.

“He trained normally with the group but he is devastated. He is sad about that situation.

“His commitment is great every time. He wants to help. His behaviour was perfect in training, with the group and club. Really, he knows he was wrong.

“When we make individually some mistakes we need to make some apologies. We’ve suggested he do that.

“First is to recover him … we want him to be close with our supporters.”

“He feels inside, very deep. It’s normal as a human. Every player needs the supporters’ support.

However, when pressed whether Xhaka would retain the captaincy, Emery was tight-lipped.

“At the moment, I am not speaking and I don’t want to speak about that,” he said.

“The first is for him to recover. We cannot anticipate the circumstance because I we are going to play a match on Wednesday, on Saturday and I prefer to keep moving, taking each step, and taking the best decision possible.

“First is to recover him.”

The Arsenal boss also made it clear he feels the midfielder was the right man for the job when he eventually gave it to him officially.

“I explained why I decided that,” he said. “He has the values, he has the respect in the dressing room, he has experience and he is captain of his national team.

“He has the conditions to be the captain. I decided that and the players respect that. He was wrong on Sunday and he also got wrong the response on Sunday, as a captain.

There was also no indication of any disciplinary action taken against him, if any.

Xhaka will not be in the squad for the trip to Anfield, although he was always due to miss this game, but it’s a situation which requires greater clarity than this ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game with Wolves.

Read today’s Arseblog on the Xhaka situation

Xhaka situation demands real leadership from the top of the club

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Pooner

Yet more prevarication from the coach. It’s absolutely pathetic management which allows this hugely unhealthy situation to fester. Make a decision, draw a line under it, and move on.

Bob's Mexican Cousin

He’s a coward. The sooner he leaves the better.
#EmeryOut

Man Manny

The Xhaka situation should not be allowed to divert attention from the bigger issue at hand, the rudderless and obtuse “leadership” of Unai Emery. He is gradually dragging this club down to his level!
There is absolutely no way Arsenal will qualify for the CL with this man in charge.
Auba and Laca would be gone!!!
The board needs to show some steel; sack Emery now.

Nketibag

Exactly. Xhaka is a scapegoat, red herring and swiss cheese all rolled into one. The only reason he was substituted was because Emery again picked the wrong lineup. He picked the wrong line up because he doesn’t drop the captain, and he doesn’t drop the captain because he chose him too late in the season. In my opinion Xhaka is almost blameless. That was a reaction of a human put in an awful physical and mental situation, like a caged animal his mind was bypassed and reacted on instinct. All the heat is on our 27 year old midfielder expressing… Read more »

A Gorilla

Making the right decision is more important than making a quick one

GoonerG

Yes, but if the right decision can be made quickly, even better… do it.

brigi99jam

I don’t agree here..What is required is a quick decision. The issue here is time-sensitive, and Xhaka was wrong to respond that way to the supporters, who were also wrong to do what they did… Strong, firm and fair response is required, in quick time to ensure strong management perception.

Pooner

Making considered decisions is obviously important, but so too is decisiveness. Especially considering that a fundamental problem with Emery has been his indecision. He has to take the initiative here. If Xhaka won’t apologise, make the decision for him, pick someone else to be captain (like he should have done three fucking months ago) and move on. Letting it drag on doesn’t help the team, the fans, Xhaka or Emery.

John C

He has 5 captains so there’s no need to make decisions is there?

backsakacrack

I may be alone here but I actually think Xhaka will keep the captaincy.

Dave M

And if he does things only go down hill from here.

Nate

#xhakain
#emeryout

Eric Blair

This has all been a very useful distraction from the paucity of performance and results for Emery.

loose_cannon

I’m not a huge fan of Emery in general and the way he handled the captaincy in the first place. But he’s well within his right to have a long and hard look at how we ended up in this mess and how we’re going to get out of it. Actually, he REALLY needs to have a long and hard look at all of that because he’s as culpable as anyone.

John C

He isn’t as culpable as anyone is he?

We’ve had a leadership vacuum amongst the playing staff for 15 years and he’s inherited a club that was allowed to drift with a culture lacking in accountability, this doesn’t change with him leaving.

It’s a long process and it’s going to take years to fix.

Anthony

Disagree. The club did not lack leadership prior to Emery. Arsene shouldered the responsibilities, perhaps too much, but he held himself accountable for poor performances amd results whilst protecting his playing staff. Made hard decisions when required, but it was often without anyone at board level speaking to protect the manager. Emery does not protect his players. He only protects himself. I hope Raul and Edu speak up on this and wake up to the very real fact that Emery is not gping to take us to the level required and should begin preparation and recommendation to Josh Kroenke for… Read more »

John C

No, Wenger was not a leader he was an autocrat who resisted help, resisted a director of football (what do they do, point left and right), resisted delegating any of the decision making, resisted recruiting fresh blood and new ideas into his coaching staff and rewarded his trusted lieutenants with extended contracts. He was a dictator.

He never took responsibility, instead blamed the ref, the weather, injuries and repeatedly said judge me in May, when he’d review his own performance!!

Why do people keep rewriting history?

John C

Wenger’s autocratic behaviour extended onto the pitch, where for about 15 years the captaincy was used either to placate unhappy wantaway players or laterly just given to the oldest senior pro.

A Different George

Wenger’s autocratic behaviour extended onto the pitch, where we qualified for the Champion’s League twenty years running and won three FA Cups at the end.

John Hartson’s Dad

Yep, and Emery has had 1,5 years to try and change it and NOTHING has changed for the better in that period. Emery out. Now.

John C

He improved on Wenger’s last season with the imbalanced squad he was given and was forced to play with a 3 at the back because we didn’t have sufficient cover at full back. I personally think he did as well as could be expected in the circumstances.

loose_cannon

He’s culpable because the choice of captain was up to him and he totally deferred it to the team, who ended up giving it to someone who is very apparently not suited to the responsibility (despite captaining his country). It’s fine to consult them, but it probably shouldn’t be up to them lest something like this happens. And this 5 captains thing is just silly. He’s culpable for insisting on playing Xhaka even though he’s not good enough for his position and we have better options there. Either Xhaka is out of form or he’s never been good enough, either… Read more »

John C

For a start Xhaka is as suitable for the job as anyone else at the club, he’s been captain for his country and his last club. We’ve also only played 10 league games this season so throwing your toys out of the pram is a bit premature. Secondly we have to ask ourselves why Emery has appointed 5 captains? He’s appointed 5 because it’s patently clear he can’t make up his mind as to whom it should be. Now that is because of one of two reasons, either; 1) We have so many contenders within the squad showing such great… Read more »

Assshavin

How could you possibly know he’s lying?

A Different George

Our last captain, a player hugely popular with supporters, left the club under terrible, acrimonious circumstances, refusing to join the club for a series of friendlies. One of our best players, and the highest paid, is intentionally humiliated. It is hard to believe that Aubameyang, our only world-class player who ever gets onto the pitch, and Lacazette, who is close to world class, will be willing to stay for another season in the Europa League.

Putney

He’s sorry but he doesn’t want to apologies… yet keeps his captaincy. This is going to get worse if the board doesn’t take action.

Takeshita

No, lets discuss Unai Emery here, first. He picks the players its not like Xhaka can turn around and say “dont pick me”. We all knew Xhaka was out of form so he shouldnt have been on the pitch in the first place – Unai buried the man, yes it was wrong of fans to boo him, yes it was wrong of Xhaka to swear at us but this is all down to Unai im sorry but he cant take us forward its clear he needs to go !

OhRockyRocky

Really. He has to be told to apologise and still hasn’t? Is he a 5 year old or the Arsenal captain. How is that acceptable

kas

On another thread someone was comparing the Swiss cuckoo to Tony Adams, Jesus i’ve heard everything now. Also there has to be something toxic at the club, when a model pro like KOS throws his toys out of the pram. Suppose we’ll have to wait for the book to be written.

Cyprus The Immortal Gooner

I got a worse one….that Xhaka is already a legend like Liam Brady…

Cyprus The Immortal Gooner

I wasn’t clear…i saw the above in another thread (someone else wrote it)…

Mega

Surely someone at the club needs to stop being such a damned meek coward and stand up… for something. Whatever the hell it is he believes in. Stand up. Stop pushing things down the line and making platitudes. Jesus.

Mega

Needs to tell Emery to *

Kampala goober ?

2 days later and no communication or a word from our captain. I mean after the situation calming down and reflection I believe it would have been in the best interest of everyone if the captain had offered a word by now. This is a war he definitely can’t win with the funs. Unless he’s made up his mind to leave the club but surely he’s taken his sweet time about it does seem like he is being forced to offer a apology.??

Red-Sky

Will the fans apologize though?
Not the first target to be singled out and blamed for collective failure, and won’t be the last.
If we don’t win the damn league every season, somebody’s gonna get abused.
Also, players should hide their wives and gfs.
in social media I mean 🙂

Putney

I think that the abuse some players receive is outrageous and should be rightfully condemned. But the crowd in this particular instance only started booing Xhaka when he decided to take the claps and the substitution like a child. If he had just hurried off like any player should’ve in that situation, we wouldn’t be talking about it today.

Loomesy

This didn’t happen in a vacuum.. xhaka has been copping dogs abuse all season

Putney

That comes down on Emery for me. Xhaka has been really dreadful at times in the past year and he has cost us a lot of points, just look at the last NLD. But Emery keeps picking him and so you cannot really blame the fans for getting aggravated.

Dave M

?

Cliff Bastin

Also it kind of boiled over when he threw the armband at PEA who had to pick it off the floor.

Gunnermite

Will you tell your customer to apologize for bitterly telling you to improve the quality of your product?

Dave M

ooooooo…
@Gunnermite with a beautiful spinning thrust and the touch!

Jagger

@Gunnermite

You keep going to the same shop despite them always serving you shit. Maybe it’s time to stop comparing the football bubble to everyday life.

loose_cannon

If I told my clients to fuck off after copping abuse from them, “losing the captaincy” would be the least of my worries! Criticism is a part of life, especially when you’re performing poorly at the thing that you’re actually paid to do. There are ways to deal with it. What Xhaka did…. was not one of those ways!

swing

None of your clients have ever given u ur wife and child death threats

Dave M

Stop making that the issue here. Every team has total fuck-wits that support them and are complete pieces of shit that stoop to social media-crazed bullying. They don’t speak for 99.9% of Arsenal fans out there and I’m sure 99.9% of Arsenal fans think that is ACTUALLY disgusting behaviour. No one can control those knobs. This is about a few fans making ironic jeers when Xhaka’s name got called and Xhaka reacting very poorly to that and then the rest of the crowd having a go as Xhaka carried on like a spoiled little brat…not the captain of a football… Read more »

David C

He needs to be benched and stripped of captaincy.

He’s devastated and sad….come on man, you make millions a year to play a game. Suck it up and recognize that criticism comes with the territory.

What a mentally weak captain to go with a mentally weak coach…..

PEA – Captain. Xhaka – squad player or sold in January.

Emery – someone put him out of his misery. Freddie or Allegri for the rest of the season, can’t be any worse….

Duno

Emery is the progenitor of all of this mess. Get him out of this club. He should go cuddle up with his buddy Gazidis.

lovely_arse

Yes they both love the fancy word salads. Talk talk talk, but no results.

bobbyp

So ‘devastated’ that he cannot type sorry on one of his social media accounts? Something smells fishy and it’s not the delicious apple pie that Baldrick just made.

Eeleen

For f’cks sake Emery. Decide something. Anything is better than current limbo. He is making it worse for everyone by a minute. If he is not going to be removed as a captain, say it and take the responsibility. Solve the f’king problem, which ever way you want. But make a decision and accept the consequences.

This circus needed to be over yesterday. This circus was mostly created by NOT deciding the captancy when it should have been. And here we go again.

GoonerG

It’s an absolute sham now. He needs to apologise. That’s the end of it. No ifs no buts and irrespective of if the fans are in the wrong too. The club have ‘suggested’ he apologises. Tell him… tell him, you apologise or that’s that at the club. And it’s your choice what you want to do from there. What’s he devastated about exactly, not his actions or he would apologise. If I was a player at the club and had just been part of a team that has threw away a two goal lead at home, I would be running… Read more »

Steve

I really don’t think how much he earns has sny place in this discussion. The dogs abuse he takes on social media from keyboard warriors, is disgusting both against him and his family. I wonder how we would react to the constant bombardment from these cowardly bullies.
Having said that, i am not a fan of his and see no way back with the ordinary decent fan base…

swe

“Rich people doesnt have any feelings”

– Karl Marx

Twatsloch

Emery, I do manual labour and I’m a council worker. I’ve seen managers there who’ve gone into meetings and put various issues to bed before our first morning break. People much further down the pecking order in society than you and they deflect bullshit from higher up to shield their staff and they solve conflicts on different levels like the professionals they are. Some of them are naturals and others have grown into it with experience. You’re telling us, with all the responsibilities that come with your job and with all the support you must have around you that you… Read more »

Amusa

The top brass should be ashamed more than Emery.
There is no Arsene Wenger to shield you from the bullets now. I don’t know why they are allowing this to fester.
Make him apologize, maybe not a an extremely one sided apology and if he refuses strip him of the captaincy and name a new captain immediately.

Nate

Let the team choose their captain. The captain’s job is to support the other players and manager, so if the players and manager all want him then okay.

Also, he should apologize.

Der32

Throws a tantrum, tells fans to fu** off, storms out of the pitch, and now he’s devastated and sad. Also still refusing to apologize after 48 hours. I feel bad for him on a personal level, but everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions. If he doesn’t apologize it’s ok, but we should both cut our losses and move on. Boos and jeers happen in football, this isn’t the first and won’t be the last. It’s not ok, but it’s part and parcel of today’s football on money steroids. Fans were promised Bayern Munich levels of competitiveness, instead… Read more »

jakr202

Which player will fans and bloggers destroy next season? 2018 Mustafi, 2019 Xhaka. 2020 ???

mrugunner

so if you’re shit, we should just accept it?

swe

No but i think we should attack the people that picks the players rather than the players. Mustafi has never picked himself.

Der32

For 1 guy getting his confidence shot 20 others are enjoying being supported and idolized. Should we count them too? Fans are what makes sport valuable, and in turn makes players successful. Competitiveness and a sense of belonging are what keeps fans interested. You can’t just lay all the blame on the fans due to your guilt.

ATG

He’s devastated? He should have keept his cool, run towards the dugout and we wouldn’t have to even talk about this nonsense.

He will be ripped to pieces if he doesn’t apologise.

Vonnie

I’m sure he’s devastated, it was a horrible situation and he’s not stupid, he knows he handled it badly, but it’s deeper than just one incident isn’t it? Granit is one of the handful of players who have been at the club long enough to have experienced the hatred spewed at the team during the Wenger Out, the re-occurrence of that towards the end of last season and now again this season. I’m surprised they aren’t suffering from PTSD. As the acting and now actual club Captain, he’s been a lightning rod for that criticism, and while he’s made mistakes… Read more »

Der32

Maybe the fans also have PTSD from some of their shocking performances in the past few years. League cup final against City. Europa League final last year. Players know if they do well they will be adulated, and if not they will be less than popular. What I’m saying is, players and fans are all humans, so giving too much sympathy one way or another is missing the point.

Longbow

PTSD? You gotta calm down there, man. This is just insulting to people who actually have PTSD and the term should not be lightly thrown around. People suffer from PTSD when they face someone or something which is an existential threat, at least in layman terms. I doubt there are any fans out there to kill these players or hurt their families. Before you ask, yes I’ve dealt with with people with PTSD. Anyway, I agree that the players get a lot of unnecessary abuse when they don’t perform and it’s not easy to deal with. Especially, in the age… Read more »

tanned arse

We’re a mess. The manager is entitled and expected to make decisions and impliment his idea on the team. Many of those have been questioned. That’s fine. What happens on the pitch is down to him, whether we agree or not. Ultimately he gets judged on results and to a lesser extent performances. That’s what’s lead us here. We don’t win matches. We play poorly. This is all a consequence of that. It’s turning toxic again and i don’t see that changing unless we immediately win games. I don’t see that happening

Mootilated

”he suggested he apologise for his actions” – just do it. if you want to repare the damage, apologise. who cares what the club think? why does he need to suggest it to the club? Just come out, say you’re sorry and let us all move on. I still think he should be benched, not because of this issue, but because he is out of form and clearly is a contributing factor to our poor performances. Not blaming him, just saying. Or if not benched, moved to a more forward role. Make space for Torreira to do his job further… Read more »

PGunner

I feel sorry for Emery (tries hard but clearly not good enough for this role), Xhaka (tries hard but clearly not good enough for this league), me (try hard to support Arsenal through thick and thin but feel very despondent about the current state of my club) and feel sorry for everyone else who supports this club dearly (and isn’t a rude cunt, booing, hounding and behaving like pubescent teenagers who can’t get there way*) *appreciating that we all pay a lot of dough to watch not very good football at the moment in a rather unsavoury atmosphere, but that… Read more »

bobbyp

Reading through the various comments is clear to me now that people are talking about different aspects. Some are saying how he gets a lot of abuse on social media (which I wasn’t aware of as I don’t use it) and by the sounds of it, it is pretty bad. Personally I have only been referring to the booing at the stadium, which I don’t think was anything too bad. Not very nice, but not terrible If he’s also been getting some of the awful stuff others are alluding to, then I can understand a bit more why he may… Read more »

Okesano

This is social media @bobbyp

bobbyp

See that’s how stupid I am Okesano, I didn’t know this was social media. I thought it was stuff like Facebook and that.

Oregoon

Beginning to think that, in his own mind, Xhaka maybe done at Arsenal. He brings in his agent for talks is not exactly mollifying the issue. That maybe part and parcel with today’s world, but no apology has been forthcoming even after your boss asked for one. Sad, embarrassed, or “devastated”, wouldn’t it be better to come forward, and get the whole situation behind you? Unless of course you really don’t give a shit, and what to leave anyway.

DJ ARSE

This whole platform has become so toxic and it’s so sad to see. I can’t even sit through any of the podcasts anymore as it’s really just devolved into rants from Andrew despite James trying to approach things rationally. I always loved how this was a platform that was so rational, especially as things were blowing up during the previous management. The level of entitlement is crazy and to make a man, who’s our captain, go through what he is, is just so unfair. Sunday was a culmination of all the toxicity that’s been happening in the fan base and… Read more »

A Gorilla

The toxicity is a reaction. Firstly, to drawing a game we should be winning. Secondly, to the club captain not acting professionally. Thirdly, to a coach that is irresponsible and lacklustre.
This forum is representative of fan’s emotions, not the cause of them.

swing

We are not entitled to win any game. We are not entitled to perfect footballers just as the arsenal players aren’t entitled to perfect fans. You get what u give and frankly the Arsenal fans support is absolute dog shit

DJ ARSE

I don’t think I agree. I think this has become a cesspool of hate and each post just compounds on that. Let’s be honest, Arseblog is a very influential voice in the Arsenal community and his opinions go a long way to shape fan perception. He’s been on this wavelength for some time now, well before this weekend and I think a lot of that sentiment has been seeping into the audience and festering, which has led to a palpable sense of unrest online and in the stadiums. Like I said, I haven’t been able to even listen to an… Read more »

stephen smart

i agree with DJ. all the bloggers get the fans going, and they then turn on the player or the manager as required. the TV cameras on Sunday turned to Ozil and Mustafi sat behind the Arsenal bench. next week perhaps there will be xhaka next to them. Emery next. then, who is next? i think of “blogs” as one of the “ultras” leading the crowd of some crazy supporters group.

DJ ARSE

100%. “No one man should have all that power”.

Ashburton Red

Weak management of situation – again!

No doubt Josh, Raul, Vinai, Edu & co. are finding a solution to this right now. They at least appear to have more gumption that our head coach.

If he was getting results on the pitch then this would not be such a crisis but ultimately he isn’t.

Further defeats coming up – Emery is toast. imho.

bob

The manager has a great chance here to fix the situation, but he has let it fester and rumble on, which always makes it worse. If Emery came out right away and said, it’s unacceptable to act like that so we’ve fined the player and he won’t be captain for a while, but still one of my 5 captain group, then I think everyone would be okay with that. He could also use the opportunity to say that the abuse that his family is getting on social media is also completely unacceptable and that anyone who would do that to… Read more »

Tim

Listen to Unai’s interview… he’s saying the same things he was saying about Mesut last season.

RidgecrestGooner

I see a lot of comments that Xhaka is refusing to apologize. On a large stage like this his own handlers, as well as the handlers from the team will not rush such an apology out. Quite obviously one is deserved, but once it comes out, everyone who is now demanding an apology will then spend hours parsing every word and phrase. It is a dicey situation that needs to be handled properly, hence the delay. That being said, every minute that passes makes the future parsing that mush more intense. I know that sacking Emery at this point won’t… Read more »

Nick

Part of me hopes he doesn’t apologise. Both sides clearly meant it and the people who booed won’t accept it anyway. I personally think the “fans” should apologise before he does and that won’t (and realistically can’t) hapoen. The only ones who would be OK with or accept an apology probably don’t need/expect one anyway. just don’t see any reconciliation happening, apology or no. Probably best for all concerned that he leave now (I know he can’t literally leave but deals could be put in place). A bit sad but either he was never good enough, never suited to this… Read more »

Chrispy

I watched this unfold from block 128 and after seeing this debacle first hand and after having the chance to sleep on it and then think about some more.

Fuck him.

I didn’t boo him by the way but the frustration after blowing a 2 goal lead and then him ambling off before becoming the panto villain, drove the fans in the ground to do what they did.

This season is done if Emery is kept in he’s job much longer.

A P

Perhaps the legal team is working at it, coming out with a statement where Xhaka regrets that the fans were offended at his actions, which were taken out of context, categorically deny he said “F off”, but all of which doesn’t indicate that he accepts any liability whatsoever, the issue of said statement henceforth indemnifying the player and imposes a non-disclosure clause on attendees in stadia going forth.

Monstarz

Tbh I wouldn’t apologise either if I was Xhaka

Stateside gooner

This is the problem with this team. Lots of players are sad, crying, and can’t take criticism. Need tougher players both mentally and physically (excluding Auba, Lacazette, and some others.)

swe

Xhaka cant take criticism? Thats pure bullshit. He has been attacked since his first season here ffs.

Stateside gooner

Bench xhaka-start Torreira

Neil

With distance, I concur with the others here. The real fault in all of this lies with Emery — his indecisiveness, seeming lack of tactical acumen, and player selection. I am not qualified to say whether he should stay on or not, but there needs to be a change at some level

Neil

Surely there are some “fans” here who partook in the booing or who have abused Xhaka or his family on social media. One message: you are a disgrace to this club

Smelly Lateez

Honestly, we need to focus on the REAL problem – and it’s isn’t Xhaka. Yes, he was wrong for reacting the way he did, but it’s Emery’s lack of vision, tactics and leadership that created this mess.

thanasis

“Almost 48 hours after the incident …, there has been no word from the Swiss international about what happened”.
Blogs, take HKAKA and sent him to apologise to AFTV

Santori

Self inflicted yet again, this time the fault of Arsenal fans. We are denied a decent playing putting in a shift for us trying his best as the captain. The disrespect is shameful and reflects poorly on us, we are the laughing stock as fans for other clubs. Pathetic. The correct thing to do here would be to have to pull him out of the firing line. Pass Bellerin and Sokratis the captaincy for now. BUT the damage is what these witless and tiresome Arsenal cretins just don’t seem to grasp. It may reverberate further through the lines. Not only… Read more »

mrugunner

“There was also no indication of any disciplinary action taken against him, if any.”

hmm way to go. good message. so you can do whatever you want with no consequence.

Zteve

The world is horrible place right now. I’ve supported Arsenal since I was 7 years old. Back in the 70’s. Supporting a club should be about just that. Supporting our players and our manager to give them the biggest boost we can to help them win. I’m not saying we have to like the boss, agree with the boss, or think every player is the best. BUT we should be supporting them publicly. Booing your own is for other clubs. It’s not ‘The Arsenal’ way. Have an opinion on sites like this. Booing at our matches is not helpful. Insulting… Read more »

Goonerink

“He has the conditions to be the captain. I decided that and the players respect that.”

this is what I’ve thought all along, Emery may have held a vote for captaincy but he also said it was part of his selection process, not the process it’s self.

so he had the players vote then overruled them and put their choices in at 2,3,4 and 5 on the captaincy list.

Goonerink

maybe he lost the dressing room sooner than the public realised, because f**k that as a player “who do you want as captain? it doesn’t matter because i choose X” and not in a ‘The Rock’ way

Kentish Gooner

I actually feel for Xhaka. He’s been made a scapegoat by our inept manager WHO STILL HASN’T BEEN SACKED. Agree that the Swiss hasn’t really progressed, but he isn’t the main one to blame. He didn’t choose to be captain, play in the position he does or be continuously picked for the first team.

Henry II

I would love to know if those that comment on this situation attended this game. For those defending Xhaka and asking for fans to apologise first, I would be amazed if they were there. The crowd reacted aggressively only after he threw the armband and continued to walk off the pitch with no urgency. We were at home, had lost a two goal lead, and our captain is reacting like this because of a few jeers?! Isn’t a captain and leader of men supposed to rise above it and have the best interests of the team at heart. If I… Read more »

Santori

As predicted, BBC ran with an article that Emery says (implied ‘demands’) Xhaka needs to apologies. When you listen to the whole interview, that was one thing he said should be done but he also mentions : 1) Xhaka’s reaction was a very human reaction. 2) He has loss a player in midfield when we need assets 3) We cannot change captains just because some people make noise in the crowd. (it would be a very weak manager who does) 4) this is a very critical moment whhich (with us in 5th still) we can push up again in league… Read more »

The Arsenal

Emery is a coward. And our Captain is showing why this team Has no backbone. Regardless who was right or wrong to say nothing after 2 days is unforgivable. How can you be acting like this a mere week after a bellend says our team are babies. Well done Xhaxa keep proving him and others right. The fact he feels that he shouldn’t apologise means he believes he did absolutely nothing wrong. What a pussy. In recent memory Iwobi and Walcott were treated much worse than this over periods of time not just one or two games. They both dealt… Read more »

CJay

a good majority of the fans on this site, including blogs, have been piling on Xhaka all season and the tail end of last season too and stoking divisiveness and tensions. i remember when Xhaka first came in and everyone was praising his tenacity and how great it was to have a bullish player who would do the dirty work that needs to be done, take one for the team, and score the occasional long-range screamer. alas, nothing is as fickle as football fans these days, and they will quickly turn on whoever they decide is the scapegoat for the… Read more »

Imustafiyou

Emery: I will let the players vote for whether Xhaka has to apologised. Joking aside, i don’t understand the management of the club. The situation had been toxic but Josh, Raul, Edu etc have been ignoring these. I am not sure whether what they see in Unai that made them believe that he is the guy to bring this team forward. Also, Unai will know that his time with Arsenal is coming to an end. Do you think he give a fuck about our dressing room? Auba and Laca leaving? Who cares, next season he will not be around. Unrest… Read more »

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