Xhaka as new Arsenal Captain

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TheBear said:
Certain players get almost Universally praise: Aubameyang, Lacazette, Bellerin and recently Guendouzi. You know why that is?.. Good performances and a proper work ethic. It's that simple.

Xhaka gets attacked because he is regularly sub-par.
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I call bullshit on that. All those players have come in for criticism at some point. The only reason they haven't been massacred is because the focus is on someone else. As soon as Xhaka is run out of the club it will be their turn. Coquelin was doing great and then, all of a sudden, the fans turned on him, and drove him out.

Guendouzi should leave now, while he still has a career.
 
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many stories stating that Xhaka is refusing to apologize. (not sure if true)

I still have no idea what is going to happen to him. I predicted he would be stripped of the captaincy but it looks as though even that wont happen according to Emery's press conference today.

If I were Xhaka, I would put in a transfer request. Simply because I would feel the fans dont want me, and because theres really no coming back from the incident. It would also mean he wouldnt have to apologize at that point.
 
Interesting from the BBC a few hours ago...kind of suggests to me that we may never see Xhaka in an Arsenal shirt again, at least not in the short to medium term, a blessing in disguise perhaps...???

"My ideal future is to watch again Xhaka playing and every supporter supporting him. I don't know if I can or will achieve it but this is my ideal.
"Also for him it's the same but also I think we need now to be calm step by step so we can progress."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50229350
 
straycat_67 said:
Interesting from the BBC a few hours ago...kind of suggests to me that we may never see Xhaka in an Arsenal shirt again, at least not in the short to medium term, a blessing in disguise perhaps...???

"My ideal future is to watch again Xhaka playing and every supporter supporting him. I don't know if I can or will achieve it but this is my ideal.
"Also for him it's the same but also I think we need now to be calm step by step so we can progress."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50229350
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Purely based on tactics alone, that MF berth should be occupied by Guendouzi and Torreira
 
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straycat_67 said:
Interesting from the BBC a few hours ago...kind of suggests to me that we may never see Xhaka in an Arsenal shirt again, at least not in the short to medium term, a blessing in disguise perhaps...???

"My ideal future is to watch again Xhaka playing and every supporter supporting him. I don't know if I can or will achieve it but this is my ideal.
"Also for him it's the same but also I think we need now to be calm step by step so we can progress."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50229350
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I doubt it is a blessing. I know none of you care about facts, but we do far worse statistically with him out of the side. It isn't any coincidence that since we started vilifying our best players, and our managers, we have got worse and worse. The slide will continue until the fans stop, but I doubt that will be any time soon.

No professional club can afford to lose first team players to fan abuse at the rate we do. It just isn't sustainable in the long run.
 
ToledoTrumpton said:
I doubt it is a blessing. I know none of you care about facts, but we do far worse statistically with him out of the side. It isn't any coincidence that since we started vilifying our best players, and our managers, we have got worse and worse. The slide will continue until the fans stop, but I doubt that will be any time soon.

No professional club can afford to lose first team players to fan abuse at the rate we do. It just isn't sustainable in the long run.
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What's our win percentage with and without him starting?
 
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Bellerin stepping up to take the first penalty and hyping up Martinez - seemed like a proper captain tonight.
 
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Granit Xhaka: Arsenal captain says 'I reached boiling point'

Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka says he "reached boiling point" following repeated threats to his wife and daughter, as he explained his angry confrontation with fans on Sunday.

The Swiss midfielder was booed while he walked off the pitch at Emirates Stadium, prompting him to cup his ear.

In an emotional statement, he said he had been "hurt deeply" by comments on social media and at matches recently.

They included 'Kill your wife' and 'Wish that your daughter gets cancer'.

Breaking his silence for the first time since the incident, Xhaka, 27, said he got "carried away" and reacted "disrespectfully" to fans.

"My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and in social media over the last weeks and months have hurt me deeply.

"People have said things like, 'We will break your legs', 'Kill your wife' and 'Wish that your daughter gets cancer'. That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.

"In this situation, I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that support our club, our team and myself with positive energy. That has not been my intention and I'm sorry if that's what people thought.

"My wish is that we get back to a place of mutual respect, remembering why we fell in love with this game in the first place. Let's move forward positively together."

At what point do we look at ourselves and think senselessly abusing our players is wrong? Of course you're entitled to show your displeasure, but to boo your own player who is your captain is counter-productive and harmful. They are still human beings that can get hurt by words like we do and to bring up the man's family is totally unacceptable. Some of the words being said to him are beyond any normal behaviour.
 
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Yeah the abuse aimed at him and other players is well over the top.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s **** and shouldn’t be playing. But that isn’t his fault, it’s Emery for repeatedly picking him. I totally get the fans being frustrated and showing that on match days, but aiming personal abuse at him on social media etc is pathetic. Jean just a bloke trying to do his best at his job.
 
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Also ....he didn't actually apologise. A lot of fans are annoyed about that - next time he plays poorly he's for sure going to get booed
 
TheBear said:
Also ....he didn't actually apologise. A lot of fans are annoyed about that - next time he plays poorly he's for sure going to get booed
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Newcastle fan in peace. Based on what I have read of the incident and surrounding events...

We have done our own fair share of criticising our own players so I'm not claiming we are any better but if I was Granit any apology i had to make would stick in my throat. If people I worked for or with said that nature of comment to me I'd have reacted worse tbh. Fans (all fans) need to realise that putting money or time into your team doesn't give you the right to make death threats or the like to the payers. If it was a Newcastle player I'd want to apologise to them on behalf of the fans rather than the other way around, they're only human.
 
Dont really care if Xhaka apologized or not.

In fact I hope he sticks to his morals and just puts in a transfer request to leave.

I think his treatment was harsh and his reaction on a human level was fair, but on a professional footballer level, it was stupid. Modern footballers' job description today is not just about what you do on the pitch, but also having to deal with fame, criticism, and public behavior - that is why they get paid all that money.

If I was him I would not properly apologize either; I would just look to leave the club as soon as possible.

But the thing about death threats etc is stupid - thats a minority of idiots on twitter and instagram saying those things, its not even a big group of Arsenal fans doing that. The truth is every celebrity / athlete probably gets death threats from idiots who need to get their head examined.
 
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white_gunner said:
Dont really care if Xhaka apologized or not.

In fact I hope he sticks to his morals and just puts in a transfer request to leave.

I think his treatment was harsh and his reaction on a human level was fair, but on a professional footballer level, it was stupid. Modern footballers' job description today is not just about what you do on the pitch, but also having to deal with fame, criticism, and public behavior - that is why they get paid all that money.

If I was him I would not properly apologize either; I would just look to leave the club as soon as possible.

But the thing about death threats etc is stupid - thats a minority of idiots on twitter and instagram saying those things, its not even a big group of Arsenal fans doing that. The truth is every celebrity / athlete probably gets death threats from idiots who need to get their head examined.
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Has anyone seen these death threats?
 
Xhaka has been stripped of his captaincy.

Xhaka has not played for the club since he reacted angrily towards the home fans when he was booed following his substitution against Crystal Palace at the Emirates on October 27. More to follow... (source SkySports)

Other souces claiming Aubameyang to take the armband.<applause>
 
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TheBear said:
Xhaka has been stripped of his captaincy.

Xhaka has not played for the club since he reacted angrily towards the home fans when he was booed following his substitution against Crystal Palace at the Emirates on October 27. More to follow... (source SkySports)
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The right decision.

His 'apology' wasn't an apology at all.
 
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