NO WORDS! Its about forty-eight hours since we saw Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka storm off from Emirates pitch in 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace and there hasn’t been a single word from the Swiss skipper and regardless pf the supporters at fault over treatment, his behavior still odds on a captaincy role.
Arsenal play Liverpool his mid-week in he EFL Cup and Unai Emery speaking in the pre-match conference suggested that Xhaka is ‘devastated’, understands his mistake, and that he has suggested he apologise for his actions.
THAT apology has not been forthcoming as of now despite club’s multiple attempts to make that happen over a series of phone calls and meetings since the incident.
“He is now devastated, sad,” said Arsenal’s’ under-pressure manager 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 asked whether Granit would retain wearing the armband, Emery was tight-lipped.
“At the moment, I am not speaking and I don’t want to speak about that,” Unai 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.”
Unai Emery also made things clear that he believed Xhaka was the right man for the job when he was handed the captaincy officially.
“I explained why I decided that,” said Emery.
“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.
Though there stands no indications of any disciplinary action taken against him.
About the trip to Anfield, Xhaka will not be in the squad although he was always due to miss this fixture.
But things require greater clarity ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League fixture against Wolves coming Saturday.
