Unai Emery says he has nothing more to add to the Granit Xhaka situation after taking the decision to strip the midfielder of the Arsenal captaincy.
The Spaniard confirmed this evening that he had informed the Swiss of his decision in a meeting at London Colney and that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be taking over the armband.
Xhaka, who released a statement via his own social media channels last week – subsequently reprinted in Saturday’s matchday programme – that explained his reaction to being jeered from the pitch in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, has not been included in the squad to face Vitoria; the third game he’s missed in a row.
Given the circumstances, there are now serious doubts as to whether Xhaka has a future at the club, something Emery was quizzed on in his pre-game press conference in Guimarães.
“I think we are speaking a lot about that and it’s clear, there’s not more words about that,” said Emery.
“The future is Arsenal’s club future, with the players that are here now and the coaches that are here.
“We have a match tomorrow, a very important match for us in the Europa League and then on Saturday in that way we need to take some decisions about some circumstances that are happening.
“I say to you what it is about Xhaka and now is for the match tomorrow and only that is my focus.
“Our focus is for tomorrow and then I think we need time because he is one of our players and we want to protect and respect him and also continue in our way. At the moment he’s not in the group and my decision is as I said to you.”
Sounding somewhat exasperated, he went on: “The decision I have taken, and also I told him and I told the other captains and now we are continuing.
“Then the time is giving us the next matches, the next weeks and the next months, how we can continue with every player and with him also.
“But now our focus is on tomorrow, he is not here. We have other players and for me also it’s very important that I respect a lot the competition and Vitoria Guimaraes and also we have on Saturday another important match.
“Our focus is only those two matches and I want to say to you also my decision. I told them. First Xhaka and then the captains and it’s finished.
“For me, it’s finished, that moment and that issue and his future with us is coming for the next weeks or the next months and now we need to be focused for tomorrow.”
Xhaka was linked with Inter Milan in the summer and probably won’t be short of suitors should he make it clear he wants to leave in January.
While he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, he’s in the prime of his career, captains his country and could well suit a league that plays out at a slower pace.
Perhaps exit talk is a little premature. We’ll see, but it’s going to have to be one hell of a comeback for him to redeem himself in the eyes of the majority of fans.
“protect our way”
A clarification of “our way” or pretty much anything Emery says at this point would be appreciated. I actually wouldn’t mind him just doing his press conferences in Spanish and have someone translate them… Although I fear it’ll just be much of the same frankly.
Even the worst of wenger era is better than what it is now.Atleast wenger used to talk sensible football things.
What made arsenal what it was? Values, style, a certain way of playing… Those things have literally gone out the window and I wonder how long the presence of a few invincibles will maintain the illusion that its not.
Unai’s media handling approach:
Appointing Xhaka as captain (unpopular decision among fans) = Players’ vote
Stripping Xhaka’s captaincy (more or less what majority fans would expect) = My decision
Well, we all know who Xhaka is when it involves being composed and controlling emotions. Not so good, I would say.
I don’t see Xhaka “redeem himself in the eyes of majority of the fans.”
His football would have helped, but as we all know, majority don’t rate him.
I feel the best thing for all concerned, at this point, is to for an amicable a divorce as possible. The marriage is done and dusted.
The board should invest whatever comes in in an EPL-ready DM. Names skip my mind at the moment, but there is someone in the mid-table clubs that can come in and do a job.
We have Torreira and Chambers who can play in that position. Not sure we want to invest in DMs. I think we need a right back as proper back up and competition to Bellerin more so than a DM.
We used to have a decent Bielik too
Yeah Derby are 15th in the Championship with a negative goal difference, so I don’t know if he would be the answer to our issues. Of course I’m not blaming him solely for Derby’s woes but he is a defender.
We should get that Hakimi dude at Dortmund. And a world class centre back.
We’d better go and shake the world class centre back tree and see what falls out.
They do grow on trees…. right?
This could have been communicated much better though. Arsenal podcasts did it well enough… you could say something like “at a professional level and respecting the values of the club, it is not appropriate for Granit to remain captain and he has to accept that. On a human level however I think we can all sympathize with what he has been going through. Granit is a very good footballer who loves and values the club and was proud to be captain but he let the situation get control of him and acted in a way that a leader of the… Read more »
Very well crafted and positioned Lula
There’s also Maitland Niles
Clarity is what is required but again that is not forthcoming…
As discussed before, it is only conclusive that the future of Xhaka and Emery are tied together. After this season, none should be at Arsenal.
Emery should go. Xhaka is a good player however used utterly wrong (using a playmaker as a DM is absurd) and with the right role he could still be important but if we can get a good chunk for him we should surely sell, but after that substitution reaction his value most have decreased.
*must not most. Smh.
When has xhaka been good enough even when played as a playmaker. Centre mids still have to defend and be positionally good. Also being further up the pitch means he would have even less time and space to make a decision/play that pass. We all know he needs about 4 metres of space as he can’t beat a man. We’re better off getting a new player for the roles we want him to serve.
I never said he was Pirlo or Xavi, he’s not world class by any means and I also want somebody better than him, but that isn’t necessarily easy to find or get.
100%. He cannot play further up the pitch: (1) He’s not mobile enough (2) he is completely unable to turn and drive past players (essential for attacking midfielders) (3) He cannot be used in a forward press as he can’t tackle making him (along with his poor mobility) poor at closing down – thus our already terrible advanced defense would get worse While he is positionally a pretty good player, he has proven in 2.25 years he also cannot be a lone DM in the EPL (Wenger tried it also): (1) He can’t tackle to save his life. (2) He… Read more »
Clear as water
Muddy water!
This whole thing could have been put to bed in one day, now we’re into second week of this ‘saga’ which suits Emery very well as the focus isn’t on performance & results.
After Andre Gomes’ horrific injury I could see Everton potentially making contact. They have a couple of familiar faces as well. And West Ham would mean he didn’t have to move far. Otherwise, it might be that he leaves the prem altogether.
He talks so much but says so little.
As a spanish speaker, Spanish is a language that requires more to be said to convey the same message than english, a slower spoken language that is very efficient at relaying information. This is not just a subjective opinion:
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/09/28/why-are-some-languages-spoken-faster-than-others
Nonetheless, this whole argument falls down because as was pointed out by Blogs’ spanish league correspondent contact on the Arsecast a few weeks back, people struggle to understand his waffle even in his native tongue.
Of course your focus is tomorrow, we know that. Our focus is tomorrow too. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have answers about an issue concerning a player’s ‘situation’ with the club. I can bet that’s the same answer that will be dished prior to the Leicester game
The worry for me is now there may be disconnect between the fans and players. Xhaka clearly had the backing of the players to be voted in in the first place. He’s a young bloke and obviously popular in the squad. They will all be feeling for him and worrying about who could be next on the fans hit list.
This is not a good position for the club to be in . I just hope it doesn’t start to reflect on the whole teams performance. As i doubt they will now be playing for the fans.
Get a manager in that holds the players accountable then. Both Wenger and Emery are very laissez-faire coaches that back players to a fault. I believe this is a big reason Arsenal have been struggling for so long after such a glorious era. The invincibles and our other strong teams of those eras didn’t need a authoritarian leader because the team was full of leaders and strong personalities (Adams, Wrighty, Viera, Sol Campbell, Bergkamp, Keown, Petit, even Henry […although some will disagree], just to name a few). They controlled the squad discipline and asked a lot from their team and… Read more »
I don’t think it’s something that can be solved with a change of manager alone (though that would obviously help), it’s the players themselves that have to change as well, figuratively or literally. Making Xhaka captain in the first place says a lot about their mentality imo, it’s far too “buddy-buddy” and I think this stops the players from calling each other out and holding each other to account. Basically there’s no pressure to improve. And Xhaka, as captain, was in no position to critique other’s performances when his own were so consistently underwhelming.
I disagree on this. Squad discipline and player management is an essential component of coaching (IMO one of the most underrated components). Similar to on field tactics you are opening yourself up to failures if you lock yourself into one player management system too. Different players need to be managed differently. Some need nurturing, some have the ambition and internal determination to never accept mediocrity (see Alexi Sanchez), some are just born leaders and you can let them do their thing (guys I mentioned before), others need motivation and discipline from external sources (see many of the current squad) and… Read more »
Was he voted though, the conspiracy theorist in me thinks an anon vote could go to whoever the manager picks anyway, just to take any heat off an appointment the manager knows is unpopular. I wouldn’t put it past emery to do that.
Perhaps I’m just too paro.
It doesn’t look like Xhaka will be an Arsenal player in February. He always tries his best and fans have been cruel to him. I get how hurt he must feel to be so publicly derided. But the bottom line is that he is just not quick enough (in thought or in physical movement) for the Premier League and would be a better player in a country more suited to his talents; Serie A would be perfect.
I thought he was very clear. He said ‘ we must protect in this moment the future of Arsenal and the football future for captain and also I tell Xhaka and my twelve other captains in this moment but also it’s important we focus on this situation where we will be the antagonist in the future and tomorrow and forever good ebening. “ See, crystal clear.
The Xhakagate will come to define UE’s tenure. Xhaka is solid squad player at least for a team such as The Arsenal. This is what happens when a manager (at any organization) subjectively has favorites who are ill suited to achieving objectives and needs of his organization. UE has demonstrated an uncanny inability of self awareness and aptitude to read the mood of fans and his own squad. I also understand the sentiment that Management has been lacking in direction in the matter, but for me it appears to be a situation of club leadership “allowing” the manager to operate… Read more »
There has been a severe lack of discipline since Wenger’s grip on the club started slipping, and which has accelerated since he left. This is why I think Emery needs to go as he seems to have little authority, and the people at the top need to get a grip. For me this is one of the key issues facing the club.
I don’t think Emery can provide clarity on any arsenal players or staffs future whilst his is still up in the air.
Probably the least good reason for getting rid of Emery is, for me, one of the better reasons: I simply can’t understand a word he says to the point that it’s futile for me to try any longer. He’s second-rate at what it takes to express himself in English yet he continues to wibble on in interviews like a modern-day Basque Henry Higgins making a point to an audience of none. He’s obviously given up on making himself understood to me and that’s just not on. He’s the epitome of someone who’s both relentless and a conceder to defeat. And… Read more »
Translation:
I want to avoid talking about this by stating that my focus is only on the matches in front of us. At the same time, I want to tell you that he is a member of the Arsenal team moving forward and will feature in the games ahead. The matter is now closed and I don’t want to talk about it anymore (because the matter is in fact not closed).
Happy to be proven wrong but I can’t see any way back for Xhaka. How can we expect any commitment to the cause from a player who hates his audience. If he were to play, it would be for his mates in the dressing room only.
I think he has to go in January and then be forgotten in the dressing room when they have no need to support him further.
Curse of captaincy seems to have kicked in already with Real Madrid rumoured to be preparing bid for Auba.
Oh course you would believe that.
Can we just have one fucking captain
Boring…
I am sure that Xhaka will never play for us again. His head left us the moment he walked of the pitch to the that terrible noise full of hate. He is now further humiliated with having his captains armband taken away. If you throw in the family situation in this, there is no way he will want to stay at our club. This is a shit situation, created by shit fans. That is the fact. He is not even that bad a player. He has some of the best passing skills in the game, he wins air duells, and… Read more »
https://mobile.twitter.com/squawka/status/1168218046655344645?lang=en
Xhaka is a liability and at his best adds nothing to the team(whatever done good is canceled by regular clusterfucks or giving away needless fouls leading to goals). Bloke dug his own grave from countless repetitive mistakes, and never reflected nor apologized for them. No smoke without fire. Time to move on.
You can add to that no midfielder in EPL history has given away more penalties than Xhaka’s 5, quite an achievement in only 2.25 seasons.
Losing two captains in acrimonious circumstances over the space of a few months…that’s the Arsenal way it seems.
Xhaka is now also getting what used to be the Ozil treatment from Emery. Lol
Exactly! Same words, same attitude!
“Emery fails to provide much clarity on….” you could get a lot out of that headline.
hillarious that Wenger will probably guide Bayern to the end of their season while we struggle on with emery.
To be honest, I kinda hope we lose to Leicester on Saturday in a similar fashion the Saints did so there’s no other possibility than to give Emery the boot.
Our chances to qualify for CL might be bigger that way.
That’s not good….
If talking gibberish was worth a trophy then give this man the Ballon Dor
Management must be patient with Xhaka. I think he did what he did on the spur of the moment. He’s been there for us when it matters most in certain situations.
Gullible fans as much to blame for this self inflicted mess (if not more) McNulty disgracefully stoking the issue, trying to make it seem Xhaka was goaing the fans by walking off slowly without providing ANY context of the abuse hurled at the captain several matches before. BUT too many Arsenal fans are easily deceived or provoked by media manufactured crisis. This is a self inflicted problem that has ONLY made Arsenal 9and Unai’s) predicament worse. We have no better solution than Granit in midfield. Torreira has his own shortcomings, Cebellos not the Santi figure some prefer think he is,… Read more »