Arsenal have reportedly offered Granit Xhaka counselling to help him recover from Sunday’s on-pitch meltdown when he left the Emirates pitch to jeers during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Boss Unai Emery says that the Swiss international is ‘devastated and sad’ about what happened, and revealed that the club are looking to first ‘recover’ the player before deciding on what to do next.
Despite a series of meetings between the player, his agent, Emery, and top club officials, there has been silence from the 27 year old – although he did remove all traces of Arsenal from his Instagram profile.
The Times reported that Xhaka has refused to make an apology, such is anger at the situation, while Emery admitted that his captain was ‘not ready’, despite strong suggestions from the club that he do so.
“He is not ready because he is feeling down,” said the Spaniard yesterday.
“He is devastated, he is upset, he is down, and right now the most important thing is how he is feeling.
“I think we can later speak about [disciplinary action]. We are in the first step after his mistake.
“Now is to recover him as a person.”
Whether he’s not ready because he’s too sad, or not ready because he feels like he doesn’t want to apologise is the big question here.
Arseblog News understands that there has been strong resistance from the player’s side to saying sorry and to the idea that he should resign the captaincy, while in the dressing room he retains strong support for continuing in that position.
It’s a difficult situation for the manager and the club to deal, but nearly three days after it happened, we’re still no closer to any kind of resolution in spite of what Emery said at his press conference yesterday.
Xhaka trained as normal yesterday, but will no be part of the squad for tonight’s Carabao Cup game with Liverpool. This was always the plan, and not as a consequence of his behaviour on Sunday.
Not sure how this will help the situation. Once again suffering from a lack of awareness
He who pays the piper dictates the tune. I am sorry but rash as this sounds it is the reality. The Club and manager must make a stand and nip this in the bud. I wonder why they have allowed this drag for so long. He isnt the first player to be booed and certainly wont be the last. He should man up and stop being a wuss. Eboue was booed, Iwobi has been booed, Ozil etc and they all still want to play and correct fan impressions. If Xhaka isn’t ready to apologize and move on from this, the… Read more »
True. 48 hours later and the fans too haven’t offered him an apology. Too soon to tell when they will be ready to brag about class again but no sign of an apology from them
Why should the fans apologise to him? He’s an average player at most and wouldn’t get into and of the sides above us. He is constantly giving away stupid fouls and getting petulant yellows for fun. Most unprofessional footballer at the club and certainly the very worst captain we’ve ever had in my 56 years.
And therein lies the problem. It’s the true elephant in the room and no one wants to face it. Some of our fans are, or act like, cunts. Massive, immature, spoilt brat, know it all cunts. These fans give the rest of us a bad name. These fans piss the rest of us off but it hasn’t come to the surface yet. These fans end up being the ones represented in the media when referred to as “the Arsenal fans” Without unity, without getting behind your team when needed, you are pretty fucked in football. But these fans do not… Read more »
Well done for sticking around over the last years, and I don’t mean because of results. I used to go to the Emirates a fair bit but hardly go any more, and it’s not because of bad results but because of the other ‘fans’. Paying £40+ to listen to obscenities, constant insults and f* this and f* that at every wrong pass or whatever a ‘fan’ thinks is wrong – it’s pathetic. I get the frustration but not hostility. I’d never want to take a child to a game – he or she would hear less hatred at a UKIP… Read more »
Well said IanH159…The irony is that we are called ‘supporters’. We can show are displeasure but not to the extent that we boo and insult our own players. Mustafi was shorn of all confidence as was Iwobi, Walcott, Cygan, Eboue…after the boos from fans.
TBF you have listed some really awful players there..but I agree with your general point
AFTV have a lot to answer for. They are a corrosive influence on the fan base and are causing a lot of these problems. That Troopz idiot should be ashamed of himself and so should Robbie Lyle. They are sucking the “class” out of our club!
TheLimpBar. Absolutely nailed it. I wish more fans had the same perspective. Fans have a responsibility to help the club thrive too, but at the moment too many (not all) are too concerned with being offended by everything and wanting to appear as though they know best by slinging spite and negativity about.
In my mind it’s simple – positivly support your club, when we’re winning and when we’re not. By all means voice your opinions, but do it in a constructive way. And NEVER boo your team. Be a positive force, not a negative one.
Absolutely, maybe slipping down the table for a few years would help get rid of these “fans”. 🙁
But what about Real Madrid fans? They do boo their individual players. Just saying
Real have never had class. They revere and celebrate scumbags like Pepe and Ramos, and sing Mourinho’s name in the hope he returns. It’s hard to watch out fan base become equally as feckless.
This sense of entitlement that has been growing in football, and has festered particularly in my beloved Arsenal, is actually a real turn off from football altogether.
And Arsenal are an average club/franchise with fans that turn on their own players/managers because the good times are no longer here.
Xhaka, Emery, Kola, Ainsley or whoever happened to be the bitter flavour of the month is just the symptom of our inability to readjust to the reality of our place in the food chain.
Before we had our “Arsenal values” to hang on to but now we’re just another……
I’m inclined to believe this.
We’re average at best. Been average as a club for a long time now.
How can the fans apologise anyways? There’s thousands of them and only one Xhaka. Every fan will not feel the same way
The Arsenal Supporters Trust (if that is actually a thing) could issue a statement. I don’t think it really needs to be done (this is not even close to the first time there have been a few jeers at a sub by the teams own fans – not at Arsenal and not at any other club – Xhaka kicked it off after that). Nonetheless, a statement might actually help alleviate the situation and reduce some of the animosity between fans, players and the management. Does that take Xhaka off the hook? No way, he needs to human up and own… Read more »
Via the same mediums we use to gut the players week in, week out.
It’s not against the rules to be positive and supportive on social media and at matches, you know.
I’ve only ever seen about 10 seconds total of AFTV because I couldn’t stand the first 3 seconds, but it sounds like it would be a mighty good place to switch off the cuntery for a day and talk about club solidarity.
wtf do the fans have to apologize for. There was a small section of the fans cheering his substitution which turned into the majority of the crowd booing because he wouldnt walk off the field. This all comes down to Emery and noone else. In what sort of fucking club does a coach have to get the team to vote for a club captain. What does that say? Your fucking squad lacks leadership and you haven’t addressed it. It also says your a fucking mug of a coach who is treading carefully around his squad. Now this Xhaka debacle has… Read more »
As wrong as you may want to view the fan’s blame in this situation, you surely realize that what Xhaka did is wrong. I’m sure it even breaches his contract (if the club wanted to pursue that avenue). I saw a thread from a London police officer that said that the abuse and provocations they receive are much worse from a few cheers/boos and yet it is expected from him to act professionally. Xhaka on the other hand is a pro footballer that is getting paid millions, was given the armband and told the fans to “f**k off” while making… Read more »
Sure what Xhaka did is wrong. I am not justifying it. My point is that some of our fans do not see how they can be part of the problems at our club – we have to be honest about it. I do not see how making the point about the fans automatically implies I stand behind what Xhaka did? More signs of a polarised mindset probably. And don’t go down the legal route, otherwise it’s all fucked. Because to extend what you are saying, the other side of it is that as an employer the club is responsible for… Read more »
Have you every work as a teacher?!
Actually the legal implications are the 1st thing I thought of when I read the headline. Club covering their back I think
It absolutely boggles my mind that anybody can say a word about money in this situation – whether it’s the amount Xhaka gets paid or what the fans pay. Does paying any amount of money entitle you to treat your own player in that way? Does being paid millions mean you have no emotions, no feelings as a human being? While Xhaka’s reaction is “not right,” it is very “right” when in the context of a human being who is constantly and vocally criticized week in week out by the fan base, has been done no favors by his manager… Read more »
tell them to*
If Xhaka was a better man he would not have responded the way he did, but he did not throw the arm band inv the ground, he threw it to Auba and it fell in the ground. He was upset to be subbed, no surprise and as i would hope my captain to be when we are not winning comfortably. SOME noisy fans jeered him and got a response from him. What i don’t understand is why anyone is surprised a player being heckled by the crowd responding to that heckling. It would take a better man than most if… Read more »
We don’t mock elders when they can’t get across the street fast enough. We don’t jeer at children when they can’t solve a problem because they do not have the abilities yet. Then please consider this: his skills and abilities are what they are. By all accounts he works very hard. He has a huge reputation and a lot of respect at the club for his dedication. His skills and abilities aren’t up to what we would LIKE? Fine. But since when is that justification for mocking and verbal abuse? Let’s be clear- this is an abusive relationship. If someone… Read more »
I thumbed you up, but Xhaka didn.t help with his slow walk off
The thing is that the fans aren’t a single entity like the individual player. The fans are many people with differing opinions. In my personal opinion the player should offer an apology for his actions and show what kind of man he is rather than wallow in self pity. However that’s just my opinion. I’ll support the guy if and when he pulls on the shirt again. I don’t think he should retain the captaincy though, as he doesn’t come across as a great leader either through his football ability or his character.
Leadership is the measuring stick for captaincy. Not footballing ability. Some of the best leaders on the pitch have NOT been the most skilled players on the pitch. Arteta and BFG are only two of the recent that come to mind. Jordan Henderson at Liverpool. Tony Adams was, quite frankly, clumsy and accident-prone. He would commit the same kind of fouls Xhaka does, and worse. He wore his heart on his sleeve. Was he not captain material? Of course we want to aspire to better than we are, and players have their limitations – all of them do. But this… Read more »
And a lack of mental toughness (such as saying the team was scared in the second half versus Watford). He is paid a lot of money to lead the team and get wins for us, eg knowing that he should get off quickly if he is substituted at 2-2. Few fans would agree with the booing and the vast majority are sorry about this, even if they weren’t one of the few that did boo. Overall, we need some toughness in the leadership of the club, on and off the pitch. We don’t seem to be seeing it here and… Read more »
Xhaka’s reaction was heat of the moment stuff and refusing to apologise is mental toughness too. He doesn’t think he’s in the wrong and holds his ground. Personally I played football in the second division of our country with my best friend. He was the toughest guy I knew and mentally very strong. He was a sub who always never got used. One day Injuries hit and he was in line to start. He invited his family but unfortunately had a very bad game. People were shouting obscenities at him and some could be heard singing about his mom, who… Read more »
So maybe the issue is deeper and it’s around the way football has gone in terms of money. The days of players really really loving and having passion for their club seems to have gone. players have passion for whoever pays them the money their agent says they can get them. This in turns leads clubs to try and squeeze as much out of the regular supporters every year upping their ticket and concession prices and leaving fans spending a large percentage of their hard earned on the team they love. As a fan it means you are emotionally and… Read more »
The only way I see this having anything to do with the money is that the fans are bringing all of their personal anger, frustration, and stress and unleashing it as abuse on the players.
And that’s fucked up.
@macthegooner
insightful comment. Cheers.
gooner—
Writing something as open and honest as you did shows incredible toughness, too. Your perspective on the loved ones around the player is really insightful. I’m sorry for what you and your friend went through and, clearly, still go through. Cheers, man.
A very sad story Gooner, and this is what people don’t think about, how it affects the player as a human being, and their families and friends. I remember Kos saying how it upset him when his daughter asked him why all the people were shouting nasty things at him, it must be heartbreaking trying to explain something like that. We need to step out of the mob mentality and find other ways to express the frustration, which is largely directed at the poor performances. Either try to pick the team up, and fans in section 6 have been better… Read more »
Look Xhaka was wrongly signalled out. But that is professionalism. You take the criticsm, and move on. Had he walked off the pitch and said something like how he got what the fans were saying loud and clear and that this was not good enough and he will improve, we would all be 100% behind him.
But to turn around and abuse the fans and all, is unacceptable and he should be sacked if he is not willing to resign and promptly shipped off to the highest bidder in Jan.
What alternative is there?
I just find it quite ironic how we expect him to take our “continued and repeated” insults and obscenities to him, his wife and new born kid on the chin, but we can’t take a single fuck off and hand gestures. He’s 27, youngest captain of Mochengladbach & the Swiss NT captain, without a history of lashing out, so obviously what happened wasn’t as a result of an isolated event. And I’m sure last Sunday wasn’t the first time he got booed on a football pitch. It comes with the job, but you can’t expect these people not to break.… Read more »
I agree with you that fans definitely use a double standard in all of this. BUT the captain also represents the club and is held to a higher standard = you simply can’t do what he did. There are other real world examples such as police or doctors who are routinely berated and are expected to maintain their cool.
Xhaka’s refusal to acknowledge that as the captain he can’t do what he did likely means his position is untenable no matter how badly Emery doesn’t want to drop him.
Saturday should be fun
State of our club! Our manager is dragging us down to his level. It’s not good.
He needs to leave.
Sounds like he wants to.
Changing all of his on line pictures and seeming not to have any remorse makes that seem pretty evident. A sad situation in all respects, but maybe it would be best for Xhaka and the club to let him move away come January.
Interesting. Instead of apologizing and leaving it behind it will drag on and on like Brexit. Next week with wolves will be toxic as it can get. Fun times.
So if he doesn’t apologize by Saturday then what? Emery is such a poor man manager. There were reports out of psg that he lost the dressing room. If he doesn’t act quickly the same will happen here. My god what a fucking mess.
To me it looks like all of his decisions so far have been over-the-top attempts NOT to lose the dressing room. – Come in and target a big name to send a message to the rest of the team that he’s ready to drop anyone If they don’t “work hard enough” – Stick with a failing system to remove player power over tactics (I watched him throw his arms up in disgust when Leno kicked it long, even though we retained posession) – Stick with a failing player to remove supporter power over team sheets – Let the players the… Read more »
Totally agree. He’s overcompensating for his mistakes at PSG. He’s gone down the wrong path and now doubled down rather than accept another approach
Wish I could get the same amount of support from my boss and my company when I make a mistake ?
Do you not have that? Might be time for a new job!
That’s what HR are meant to be for but in most companies HR is only there to protect the company!
Exactly, quite often HR is used as a means to alert to management the people that make (usually legitimate) complaints and make situations for those employees worse. And @Ben “Might be time for a new job!”: Easy for you to say maybe – you might have choices. Many people can’t just quit their jobs, many people are in highly competitive industries and whose families depend on the job they have. Xhaka is most definitely not one of those. He has choices to walk away and do something else if he can’t handle football (or even just go play somewhere else… Read more »
I hope he plays on Saturday. Panto season comes early at Arsenal.
Oh, no it doesn’t!
I’ve gone from the ‘Get off the pitch you fucking prick’ camp when he started the slow-walk off, to the ‘Actually that was horrible and must have felt terrible, no wonder he was pissed off’ camp and am now increasingly in the ‘Just fucking apologise right fucking now you fucking dick’ team. 2 camps and a team, but in conclusion he should have apologised Sunday night, Monday at the latest and this is making him look even worse which looked unlikely to be possible on Sunday afternoon.
This is his problem, he is just stubborn. He’s always overlooked his own failings, didn’t apologise for his stupid on-field antics or mistakes that cost us points.
Whilst I may understand his ire at fans, the first step to reconciliation has to be an apology. Failing to do that whilst insisting on retaining the captaincy is childish.
He has made an embarrassing situation impossible.
Amongst other examples, he is the same player who when we conceded to Sheffield United was complaining that no one was marking Mousset, while arguably he should have been! It just surprises based on on-field performances and reactions, that the players want him as captain. Shows, how much goes on elsewhere like the dressing room, training, etc that we are not privy too. From a fans perspective (I wasn’t in the stands, as the game wasn’t televised I wasn’t even watching), I can understand the frustration with the season, the game. However any abuse on social media, especially involving family… Read more »
I remember arteta got much of the same criticism regarding his footballing ability. But I’m convinced he would never have done what xhaka did in that situation, neither would Per or Kos. I can’t think of any former Captain that would be that stupid. Well, maybe Gallas.
Getting ironic cheers must have felt bad, but what followed was his own doing.
Emery should come out at some point and back the qualities he feels makes Xhaka Captain.
For example Per was club captain but didn’t play much. Same with many of our captains.
Finally, a genuine chance of seeing a Torreira / Guendouzi axis on Saturday?
Still the same manager though isnt it. Wouldnt expect everything to be magically fixed. Xhaka isnt really the main issue with the team is he.
Nah Özil is DM against Liverpool
Hopeless management
The way he reacted on Sunday was not right but we as fans should shoulder part of the blame, I have seen some posts on his social media abusing even his wife and his new born baby. What do they have to do with arsenal football club, I am sorry but if he has to apologise we as fans have to apologise too, I don’t know but if someone abused my child whatever the age I would punch you in the face. I know not all fans are responsible for this behaviour but something really needs to change for the… Read more »
Well said Dan. It was disgraceful on both sides.
I heard about people abusing his wife and unborn child on social media – this is just sick and totally unacceptable. There’s just no excuse for this sort of thing. I don’t care how much money you’re earning or that you should rise above it, it’s just plain horrible and nobody should put up with it.
I 100% agree with that. No one deserves that. People that behave like that a low-life scum – nothing more. Happens at every team and also in every sport – the modern world, where people can hide behind internet avatars and act like bully’s and scum. The only way to avoid it is to simply avoid social media as a public persona. But that is really a separate issue to what happened on the pitch. However, since people keep bringing it up. Let’s discuss it. What do we do about it? Police it? Give governments power to obtain IP and… Read more »
Good points Dave, maybe the club, at some stage, could make a statement that they will not tolerate the online abuse of players and that hate crime will be referred to the police. I’m sure some of those involved will be local and could at least be banned for life from anything to do with the club. There is a saying that for evil to fester just takes good people to do nothing, switching off social media cuts out a lot of really nice interaction between players. I also see that Stuart MacFarlane is so upset by it all that… Read more »
Yeah I think they could make that statement along with the FA (it’s not just an Arsenal problem), but would be good to see Arsenal involved in taking the lead with this. Sometimes you see some vile comments here, but for the most part it’s pretty good discussion. But social media is another beast – super, active and real time. People don’t think about what they write because there is no repercussions and rate at which things happens is super fast that it promotes that mentality. Personally, I don’t care much at all for interactions with players, but I understand… Read more »
Agree that two wrongs don’t make a right and I do think that when Granit calms down he will see things that way and will issue a statement. The problem is that he probably doesn’t see what happened on Sunday as a separate issue, and the abuse came from our supporters, who are supposed to have his back. Most players can deal with one or two abusive idiots, or opposition fans, but this was a huge percentage of his own fans. I think in the end the effect was cumulative and very hurtful for him, and all exacerbated by the… Read more »
The fans do not have to apologize to anyone for booing him on the pitch on saturday. He isn’t the first to have been booed. However, regrading social media and his family that is a tad too far but remember, the power to mute all that is in his hands. He can turn off comments on all his handles. Every public figure gets terrible comments on social media, please dont use that as a measure for us Arsenal fans.
It’s important to highlight (yet again) that he wasn’t booed until he decided to trudge off at a snails pace as we entered the final stages of the game seeking a winning goal. He put his own hurt feelings ahead of the good of the team. For that he was booed. The ironic cheering at his substitution was as much (if not more) a dig at Emery and didn’t warrant his childish response. Any player from either team trudging off as slowly as he did at that point in a match would have been urged to get a move on… Read more »
I disagree with using “he isn’t the first to have been booed” as justification for booing him. Was it OK to reduce Eboue to tears for playing badly? We give lots of other clubs shit for their classless behaviour – implying that we feel we are a classy club. Yet we boo Wenger, we boo Eboue, we now boo our captain. My barometer is always – did the guy try his best? If yes, I won’t boo him. After all, I’m sure Xhaka wants Arsenal to win every game. If you see a guy giving up on the pitch, fair.… Read more »
He wasn’t booed for being crap. He was booed for petulantly sulking and walking off slowly like a spoiled child being told it’s bedtime. The sulk preceeded the booing. Cause and effect…
The social media abuse however is vile and disgusting. That’s totally unacceptable and to be condemned.
Something he has always done on the pitch, worse of in our own penalty box, for example the Man United game; goal.
I would never condone personal abuse for him or his family – unfortunately that’s the facility that social media has given mindless yobs.
Cheering a decision to sub him however is not in that category and he gas to recognise why fans felt like that. It was by no means his worst game but it was UE who subbed him. Luiz may have received the same fan reaction.
Did the fans in the stadium abuse his wife and kid? He said fuck off to the fans in the stadium, not the foolish online samurais that hide behind keyboards. He should fuck off back to Swiss, perhaps he still has his house keys with him.
Even the cheering as he was subbed was pretty minimal and may even have just a cheer that an attacking sup was being made in general, who knows, I had what I can only assume was the angriest bloke in the stadium sat just behind me and even he didn’t do an ironic cheer at the sub. It was the slow amble off that did it, if he’d just jogged off no one would even be talking about anything.
No need for the apology. He doesn’t think he did something wrong 3 days after. The club should and must not wait for him before taking a decision.
That public display of petulance and disrespect to the club and fans under any circumstance comes with consequences.
None of us can do it at any paid employment except we are ready to quit. I think he wants out. Most fans want him out. So let’s bin him alongside Unai and arrest this slide towards disaster.
Both have proven not good enough but are too dense to realise that
I’ve been secretly hoping he would say sorry and we move on. But 3 days of being asked to apologise, refusing and removing all traces of Arsenal from his social media profiles after telling ticket buying fans to fuck off after he was in the wrong for not getting off the pitch quickly I’m afraid that has to be game over for him at the club. It’s not like we are losing Ronaldo is it ?
As long as Xhaka is in the dressing room, i dont think any player would do anything other than to give him their full support. So Emery needs to make that hard decision for the playere and remove him off captaincy. Otherise it will defintely cause further frictions between the fans vs players since players will be forced to take Xhaka’s side out of professional courtesy. If Xhaka simply walked off, I would have defintely taken his side. We have seen players in tears because of the abuse from fans, remember Eboue? did anyone ever expct to see Eboue put… Read more »
Good for him. If he doesn’t want to just publish some fawning apology, yet, or ever, then I’d rather he stick to his principles.
I’m hoping us fans just realise that it’s one man, the club is bigger than one man and we should just support the team and hope that Xhaka and the Arsenal come out stronger for it. The trouble will be if we draw/lose again (and again) and Xhaka continues to be average and left in the firing line.
But fair play to the fella for not just towing the company line.
And Emery needs to apologise to him for making him play as a deeplying playmaker and not organising a decent defensive organisation of the team around him. Personally I think this was the tactical reason for leaving out Ozil. But we aren’t pressing actively anymore. And Xhaka is being targeted by opposition teams to isolate him 1v1 in wide positions. That is where Niles helps defensively but going forward we need an Ozil. It’s a mess, both personally and tactically. And especially starting with a recruitment drive which put players into a category which they didn’t belong. We just didn’t… Read more »
I personally don’t feel any anger or resentment towards Xhaka. In my opinion, naming him captain and picking him week in week out made the crowd’s boos, Xhaka’s reaction and the escalation that followed almost inevitable.
It all feels like Greek tragedy, but, in this story, who’s fallen from the greater height, Emery or Xhaka?
If Emery is smart, he will take xhaka off from the firing line and not play him for few matches until xhaka is mentally ready. And while xhaka is out of the picture for now, he(emery) better sort out the tactics and team performance otherwise someone else will end up being a scapegoat. Its not healthy for everyone affiliated with Arsenal. Season is only beginning of 2nd quarter and we hv ozil and xhaka situation. This cant go on until 3rd quarter. Emery needs to go if this drags on.
I really don’t get it. Normally if a person feels remorse their 1st instinct is to apologise. I’m really shocked that Bellerin was the one to post a message on unity displaying pride for the badge. Surely it should have been Xhaka who said what Bellerin did? Xhaka should apologise and deal with his emotions in his own time. The longer this festers the worse things will get for him.
idiot unai.. very clear xhaka always make a mistake, still made him a captain.. captain did not make a mistake.
Untenable.
Untwentyable really..
Unless this is about something much deeper, it’s becoming stupid now. I know (only from reading on here) that he had some pretty horrible online abuse, but this apology is regarding the stuff in the stadium. He wasn’t the first and won’t be the last player who is booed by their own fans. I watched several documentaries recently about prison officers have piss and shit regularly thrown on them. They were also regularly threatened and sometimes attacked. These people are paid about £26,000 a year to put up with that. There are other jobs that have to put up with… Read more »
There is a huge emotional difference between being treated adversarially by people you’re supposed to be adversarial with and people who are supposed to be on your side. The prison guard analogy works if the jeering came from opposition fans but makes no sense here.
Prisoners may well not like prison guards and maybe adversaries, but to have shit and piss poured over you is pretty disgusting. If it were a choice between that and having my own fans boo me, I would definitely go for the booing. A lot less traumatic I would guess.
Again, that’s irrelevant. The relevant question is whether you’d be more hurt by your family members jeering and pouring shit and piss over you than if your adversaries were doing that.
It’s not irrelevant. Arsenal fans aren’t his family.
I can’t help you if you can’t understand simple logic. Others clearly get it.
“The most important thing is how he feels…” No it isn’t – the most important thing in this situation is the institution that is Arsenal football club. No individual is more important. Just deal with the situation already and be done with it. Having this drag on all week is truly pathetic and shows a lack of leadership from top to bottom. I’m fed up with it. Maybe I should get some counselling too. 🙁
The booing and jeering was deplorable. But if he leaves, you have to say – the fans have directly made the team better.
Controversial.
If I was Xhaka i would be iff in January and release a statement along the lines of:
“You are some of the worst home ‘fans’ i have ever experienced. Your toxic, poisonous ‘support’ is one of the primary reasons for the team’s failings. I shouldn’t be surprised given your treatment of your most successful ever manager. Good luck”
That ought to make ‘fans’ take a long hard look at themselves, but in reality would probably just lead to a load of twitter death threats because thats easier than a bit of self-awareness and honest self-reflection
I mean I’ve never done anything to directly abuse our players. So if one put out that statement addressing me I would be pissed, he earns a small Island nations annual income, which is paid for by me and others.
Being abused online? Report them and turn it off/hire a pr team.
Being abused in the ground? Put in a better performance and talk with your coach.
Nobody is forcing Xhaka to post things on social media. But he did it to capitalize on his popularity and gain following. When it backfires because of his on field performances and antics you can’t blame the fans without alienating yourself even more. Life is always a tragedy, his was purely his own making. Worse things happen in life man. Get some perspective.
If this incident gets this mediocre joke off the pitch then all to the good. Well done to the jeering fans – mission accomplished friends.
Hang on a minute.. Do our fans boo every single player who’s had a rough night while being substituted? If it was the case, same situation would be happening much more often. It clearly isn’t the case. So GTF out of here with “fans embarrassed themselves” comments. Our midfield has pretty evidently been shit for last couple of season. He’s a ever present fixture in that midfield. We continue to leak goals when’s on the pitch and continue to not create as well. Everyone else gets moved around, dropped, substituted but he’s been untouchable. This has been clearly seen and… Read more »
Could not agree more. Very well put. The only improvement to your post would have been an nice #Emeryout sign off!
I work in sports. When Emery was announced, I published a pretty damning piece on LinkedIn to basically say “it’s beginning of the end of unique identity of Arsenal as we know it”. Which I had to subsequently delete pretty quickly, because you know, emotions and business shouldn’t mix.
So yeah I’ve been #EmeryOut before the ball was even kicked.
Let’s take this opportunity to give Torreira consistent games and move on.
As blogs has said many times Xhaka is the lightning rod for all the fans negative feelings towards the manager. Is this fair no, was his behaviour on Sunday human, yes, do you expect more from a player/captain/leader hell yes. But, and it’s a big but the last few days is how you can judge him and that is where he is lacking, from the player the only message is to remove Arsenal from his social media, even if he released a small statement saying he is taking time to consider his words or wanting to address the situation after… Read more »
Xhaka is reaping what he’s sown for the past few seasons: too many bone-headed fouls, idiotic penalties given away, slow play, etc. That this has all come to a head now along with the Ozil situation reflects poorly on the club and both players, to be fair. While I accept that Xhaka is angry and his pride has been dented, unloading on the fans is a losing game, it won’t work. You have to take it like a man, go be pissed off in the locker room afterwards, whatever, but giving it back to the fans like that is profoundly… Read more »
Honestly, I feel for him. Whoever booed him is a joke. So disappointed with so many “fans”. I look at Liverpool and see their fans who stick with their players through thick and thin, and I just shake my head at the absolute crass and classless behaviour from “fans”.
Lol how’s Karius doing
The cheers came with his substitution, the boos only came because of his slow, time-wasting walk from the pitch, throwing of his armband and ripping off of his Arsenal shirt.
If he sees no need to apologise, he must be gone.
1. https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-watch-klopp-loses-temper-with-liverpool-fans-for-booing-team-20161127
2. https://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2017/11/anfield-negativity-is-not-a-new-sensation-liverpools-boo-boys-down-the-years/
3. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/lucas-the-boos-at-anfield-were-my-worst-moment-1812145.html
Stop acting like this is a first in the history of football. EVERY club as examples of the same.
This is so true. Liverpool fans can be just as toxic. A few years ago it was terrible. They’re just European champions now so things seem better. Even so Robertson had to delete his twitter after making a mistake recently. And imagine how good things would be at the Emirates now if we were European Champions?
We are not uniquely bad fans.
Whatever your opinion on X Maybe more importantly, for the future of this club, I think it is important fans issue apologies (through banners etc) because potential signings will be put off. He has the backing of the players which to me is a sign they don’t blame him and instead blame the manager. To avoid a complete collapse of player-fan relationship, us fans need to be better or we will make a bad situation worse.
Some Arsenal fans are terrible. A stadium of fans got on his back cos he walked too slow and abuse him and his family online but hey he makes a lot of money so he should take it on the chin and just mute his social media presence to accommodate the loyal fans right to express displeasure. Bravo. I dont think this lot deserve any apology so I cab understand his reluctance to give them one. As someone said above, they should be punched in the face.
I do not understand the link between the booing and online abuse and I think it does a massive dis-service to those who were in the stadium. No one is asking or expects him to reply to the online idiots which troll him or abuse him in a cowardly fashion. Going to the stadium and booing is a reflection of the crowd’s emotion as much as cheering. You boo the ref if you don’t like his decision, you boo the opposition player if they dive or don’t like them or used to play for us, so why can’t you boo… Read more »
I liked your sensible and well put comment. It made me smile about the Captain Hook comment too.
Whole new thoughtline on getting Hooked
People make mistakes, and this outburst looks like it’s been brewing under the surface for a long time, I like Xhaka, he always gives his all, but his confidence looks shot. There’s a huge disconnect between fans and players, and this spiral of negativity has to stop, but it won’t… Seen Ozil tweeted “Big game ahead. No matter what – the only way is standing together as one. ?” Ozil is the only player I’ve got a problem with, he’ll happily send out cryptic tweets that are designed to hurt the club and further split the fan base, but it… Read more »
Ah, Rich and Özil. There is love behind that. lol
I just wonder what the club management will do. With the broken relationship between the fans and our captain, whenever he is on the pitch, boos will be heard. I am not amazed how Unai reacted for this but i am amused about the lack of action from the management. No fine? No stripped of captaincy? No match ban? No statement made?
No matter how pleased i am for the work they had done for the summer transfer window, the management lacks the steel to make tough decision. One for Xhaka, one for Unai.
#emeryout
What happened to Xhaka was unfortunate and his reaction was human. Having said that… The incident encapsulated Xhaka’s flaws; his dithering, his petulance, his thin skin and his rashnesses. These qualities do not a captain make. The fact that he still has the support of the squad to remain captain despite this and even though he hasn’t apologized says quite a bit about their mentality. There seems to be a distinct lack of holding people to account, demanding more from each other, a winning culture. I’m sure Xhaka is a nice guy, and I do feel sorry for him, but… Read more »
Who gives a shit? The sooner this chapter is closed the better. At the end of the day, Xhaka is contributing nothing positive to our clubs goals and now it’s fair to say Xhakas association with the club has done him some damage too. Part ways asap and look forward to a better future. I’m sure the fan base of the club he plays for next will be entirely more understanding, appreciative and supportive of him two footing opposition players in his own box for no good reason.
There is something you all miss: did Xhaka apologise to the club, to his coach who made him captain and to his partners who confirmed his captaincy? You know the quarrel between Mourinho and Özil, but what few know (because it is much more fun to keep the idea of what Mourinho said and not of what Özil did afterwards…) and what Özil wrote in his book: afterwards he thought of this when in the dressing room alone while his partners were on the pitch for the second half. And when the game was over, he was there and apologised… Read more »
Utter shambles of a club.
I think this lad is paying the poor management of the club and the coach. The club, for not replacing him by a world class midfielder, less blunt prone and truely UCL level. Plus mishandling Koscielny’s situtation. And from the coach for letting the players chose the captain, leading to a situation where the least liked player behind Mustafi is designated captain. All and all, the human Xhaka seems like a great lad. But that proves he cannot be captain if he cannot separates the Arsenal Captain from Granit the human being. As fans we suffer, to see the team… Read more »
Lol. First world problems…
I dont think Xhaka will come up with any apology at all. I think he is bored and f upped with the hole Arsenal family. We are behaving more and more like a joke of a club, and the biggest jokers are the fans. We have the most toxic fanbase in England, problably the world. We even humiliated our greatest manager ever. Imagine that happening to Sir Alex? Xhaka used to play for the best fans in the world, now he plays for the worst. I can imagine him tell us all to do one, and head back to Dortmund… Read more »
If Wenger came back to the Emirates, I bet you the stadium will sing one Arsene Wenger in unison. Wenger left a great legacy, and it was time for him to go. He earned his 20 year stay at Arsenal. Emery earned his 2nd year, but so far not much beyond it. No need to mock our own fans.
I personally would of never made xhaka captain infact I’m not sure he would even get I’m my first 11 but IMO you should never boo your own players captain or not! I wouldn’t say sorry either! The people that boo him are probably the same people that applaud fabregas when he came back with Chelsea!! Arsenal fans have got previous with this!!
This is not what a captain does. Stop being a baby.
Hopefully this is the starting process of his exit. Who else deserves the same treatment….
Apologize and U will feel better. Not the other way around
For him as a person I hope he’s okay but he’s not ready for the captaincy.
Xhaka needs to fire his PR team and ask Ozil for the number of his PR team. He is digging himself into his own grave at Arsenal and, if he continues this way, he may never get out of it. The boos and the social Media debacle are not completely related. He should apologize for the outburst and appeal to the human side of the fans, while changing his settings and preferences on social media. In any case, since he’s scrubbed off Arsenal from his profile, he shouldn’t let the door hit his bum on the way out if he… Read more »
Well, I hoped the fan displeasure would not spill into the stadium so early in the season, but here we are. The classy Arsenal I love, doesn’t look so much different from all the other clubs now. I understand it’s all the disappointment built up over the years that bred impatience, but really it is just sad so early in the season. Fan support is so important. Look at all the great teams that have had great runs and you will see that their home support fully backed them. We won’t get better with a toxic atmosphere at home. Express… Read more »
He needs counseling alright… To lower his ego.