THE HARDEST WORD
Arsenal offer Granit Xhaka counselling as distraught skipper refused to apologise to fans for ‘f*** off’ outburst
GRANIT XHAKA is refusing to apologise for telling the Arsenal supporters to ‘f*** off’.
The Gunners captain has been left so depressed after being booed off at the Emirates on Sunday that the club are offering him counselling.
1
Arsenal boss Unai Emery expects the midfielder to say sorry. He explained: “We suggested he gave an apology.
“But in his mind he is not ready to do that because he is devastated inside. He is very upset. Granit knows he was wrong and when we make mistakes we need to apologise.
“But he feels that the supporters don’t like him, so now he needs to feel the love of his family, his friends and everybody else.
“But at the moment he is not feeling that with the supporters.”
Emery has had a series of heart-to-heart discussions with Xhaka since Sunday.
But the player is in no mood to back down after finding himself the subject of a sustained hate campaign from a section of the Gunners fans, who booed him off as he was subbed in the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Xhaka had on Tuesday replaced his profile picture on Instagram that had shown him in an Arsenal shirt with one of him in a Switzerland national strip.
And Arsenal are so concerned about his fragile state of mind that they are not even contemplating disciplinary action against him at the moment.
A club insider has confirmed that the 27-year-old has become increasingly dejected by the abuse he has received in recent weeks, both on the pitch and on social media.
And Emery insists that the question of Xhaka’s continuing captaincy takes second place to his mental well-being.
He said: “I spoke with Granit on Sunday, on Monday and again in training and it is not easy for him.
“I don’t need his apology to me because I know he is devastated.
“He is very down and we need to support him.
He has the conditions to be the captain and all the players respect that. But he was wrong on Sunday.
Emery On Xhaka
“He has a great commitment with the club every day.
“He has the values, the experience and the respect of the dressing room. He has the conditions to be the captain and all the players respect that.
“But he was wrong on Sunday and that was not the response of a captain.”
His Gunners pal Lucas Torreira was pictured in tears over the incident on Sunday.
And Emery confirmed Xhaka will not play at Liverpool tonight but insisted he always planned to rest him in the Carabao Cup.
Now he must decide if Xhaka is in the right frame of mind to return for Saturday’s Premier League game against Wolves at the Emirates.
latest sports news
But he knows it will be almost impossible for him to select Xhaka until he issues a public apology to the fans.
He said: “My ideal future is to watch Xhaka playing again with everyone supporting him but I don’t know if I can or will achieve that.
“We need to stay calm and go forward step by step.”
Unai Emery confirms Granit Xhaka left out of Arsenal squad for Liverpool clash but ‘knows he was wrong’ over fan meltdown
Topics