Xhaka wrong to react to Arsenal supporters, says Emery

Captain Granit Xhaka should not have responded to the jeers of Arsenal supporters on Sunday, according to boss Unai Emery.

Published : Oct 28, 2019 10:08 IST

Unai Emery says Granit Xhaka was wrong to react to Arsenal supporters' boos in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Gunners captain cupped his ears to the fans who appeared to ironically cheer him as he was substituted on the hour mark, before removing his shirt and walking straight down the tunnel.

RELATED| Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace: Captain Xhaka clashes with fans as Gunners throw away lead

Speaking about Xhaka's reaction, Emery told BBC's Match of the Day : "He's wrong. He's wrong, but we are going to speak inside about that situation. I want first to listen to him and to be calm but, really, he was wrong in this action."

He later told a media conference: "We are here because we have supporters. We work for them and need to have respect for them when they are applauding us and criticising us."

When asked if Xhaka will remain as captain, Emery said: "Now is not the time to talk about that."

- Arsenal great Wright tells captain Xhaka to apologise to Gunners fans -

Arsenal hero Ian Wright has told Xhaka to apologise after the Gunners captain lost his cool with home fans in the draw against Crystal Palace.

The crowd  had been baying Xhaka as he slowly made his way off the pitch, with his performances rarely meeting the high standards of previous Arsenal captains. But Wright insisted the behaviour was inexcusable, saying on Match of the Day 2 : "He should apologise. That's the captain. He should have apologised already.

"[If he apologises] it's not a case of that's the end of it, but that's the guy they've chosen as the captain and that's not captain's behaviour.

"Arsenal fans have showed a lot of patience with him and the performances he's put in. He owes them a lot more than acting like that."

Wright questioned whether Xhaka's confidence might have gone because of flak from supporters and suggested he was reluctant to show for the ball.

"Players getting booed is not the best at the best of times," Wright said. "I think they're frustrated with the fact he's not run off the pitch. I've seen him substituted before and he's bolted off the pitch.

"This time he's walked off. Now he's goading them.

"We're talking about fans that have watched him play, in the four years he's been there, a handful of good games and he's treating the fans like that," he said.

Trouble could be brewing at Arsenal, with the 27-year-old Swiss set to have talks with head coach Unai Emery about his behaviour. The Instagram account of striker Alexandre Lacazette also liked a post from a widely followed Arsenal supporter who said "enough is enough" for Emery and that Xhaka should never play for the club again.

Wright stressed that regardless of the fans' views and the way they might express them, Xhaka was out of order with his response during Sunday's game. "He's the captain, so he's got the responsibility of being able to take that on board because he's been voted as the captain," Wright said.

"You can't go like that. The amount of stick that someone like Mesut Ozil's got, I can understand if Mesut Ozil came off and threw his shirt down, but [Xhaka] is the captain; the manager's got faith in him."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment