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Unai Emery has confirmed he does not plan to play captain Granit Xhaka in Arsenal’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Swiss midfielder had an angry confrontation with some home fans in the Gunners’ 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, and Emery said on Friday he is planning to leave him out of the side to face Wolves, per James Benge of Football.London.
Emery further explained:
“The first is the person. The human, like everyone, feels. Xhaka’s issues last week is one issue that needs time. He needs time to recover the normality in him.”
Xhaka was substituted against Palace after goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew had cancelled out early strikes from Sokratis and David Luiz.
There was almost half an hour left on the clock for Arsenal to salvage all three points, and sarcastic cheers for the captain from the home fans turned to boos as he walked off slowly.
In response, Xhaka cupped his ear to the crowd before he took his shirt off and headed straight down the tunnel.
He also appeared to swear at fans:
James Olley @JamesOlley
This feels like a landmark moment for Xhaka and #afc fans. His substitution is greeted by cheers, he’s then booed as he walks off (instead of running with the score at 2-2). He then cups his ear to the crowd, shouts “f*** off”, takes his shirt off and walks down the tunnel.
The 27-year-old was not a popular choice as captain when he was chosen as Laurent Koscielny’s successor earlier this season:
BBC 5 Live Sport @5liveSport
“Why should it be player power? Who’s the manager here?!”
Granit Xhaka has been named as #Arsenal’s permanent captain ?
@chris_sutton73 says he “totally agrees” with this Gunners supporter – who can’t believe the decision?
#BBC606 https://t.co/1ezrekMZva
His actions against Palace have been widely condemned, including by Emery, and he has also issued an apology:
Match of the Day @BBCMOTD
Was Xhaka in the wrong?
Emery says so.
#MOTD2 https://t.co/DktCeFycGs
Arsenal @Arsenal
The following is a message from Granit Xhaka… https://t.co/YG5lBKmQvi
There are those, though, who feel he has been harshly treated by the Emirates faithful:
Sam Dean @SamJDean
Xhaka is essentially being punished by many #AFC fans for a) not being the player they want him to be, and b) being valued by his coach & team-mates. He makes mistakes, yes, but it’s not fair to question his attitude or commitment. Treatment of him today feels really wrong to me
Xhaka’s omission from the Arsenal squad for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fixture with Liverpool was not notable given managers often use the competition to rotate players.
His omission for the Wolves game is significant, though, as Arsenal need their strongest team out after earning just two wins in their last eight league games.
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