1- Xhaka largely responsible for the equaliser Palace scored. He couldn’t defend again McArthur by first letting him go past him and then not doing enough to stop the cross.
2- Xhaka was booed because he was walking when his team is 2-2 and need a win. You’re subbed out, you’re the captain, you’re supposed to be professional. Just sprint out instead of creating the unnecessary drama.
3- The team took control again of midfield and the came once Xhaka went off (which has been the case every time he has been subbed out this season)… I wouldn’t call that a coincidence. Plus, if the players were affected by his substitution then the team would’ve fallen apart… what I saw instead of falling apart is that our play because faster and players were full of energy for some reason.
4- Laca liking a post on Twitter asking for Xhaka out and earlier in the season Auba liking a post criticising Xhaka doesn’t make it sound like Xhaka is actually liked by his colleagues… This could be a blessing in disguise. Finally getting rid of an underperforming player.
I think it’s all positive but media is trying to shame the club, fans and assuming the club will be in crisis because of this. On the contrary, I think this will be positive for the club.
Emery asking the players lol, does this man not have a backbone. He has to strip him off the captaincy and not have him in the squad. Xhaka is finished at this club, no point of no return. Shocking that anyone’s thinking twice of having him back in the first team.
Nah they left because the direction of the club was heading towards a path which ambitious players like Fabregas/RVP wanted to avoid.
They joined clubs that competed for titles and won titles. Arsenal on the other hand… Well we aren’t even capable of competing for the top 4 let alone titles lol.
One thing that sums up the Emirates era is the amount of poor showings and incidents that happens, we never have any blood letting or meltdowns as a team.
We have the odd individual who just leave. It’s not a natural situation. This should of blown up sky high in Baku.
I’m still having a hard time believing that Xhaka is so beloved in the locker room. Must be a helluva guy off the pitch because on it, he rivals Mustafi for most boneheaded mistakes that cost the team points. The rest of the players aren’t dumb or blind to this surely.
The weak mentality at Arsenal needs to be removed. I thought that a new manager post Wenger would instill some toughness. Instead, he’s made it worse and his captain was “scared” at Watford.
This has always baffled me. Is Xhaka really that popular? The people at work who always fuck stuff up might be nice but I’m not throwing my job away or turning a blind eye just because they work “hard” (JFC I’m so sick of hearing how hard Xhaka works).
It’s so clear that Emery is the wrong choice now. Persisting with him in the hopes Spurs and Man U out crap us for fourth is insane.
The club belongs to its supporters. If someone fuck with it, is our right to let them know it. Players get paid so much because people see the matches. More people, more opinions, more criticism. If you like the good life of a footballer, accept it with the bad part too. If not, go play on a lesser club earning more less and not have to respond yo criticism.
The only way for the people to make notice of their discomfort its at the siadium. If not, it isnt worth it. Social media? Just a few trolls. In the media? They have an agenda. The supporters are always right. No one hates a player just because. We all want them to be the best. We can understand bad matches, it happens, no big deal. But if you play awful and make the same mistakes without repercusions the fanbase will give up on you. Maybe Xhaka didnt play bad yesterday, but he surely were more than a few times. He deserved the boos. Aubameyang played like shit yesterday but no one is going to critize him because hes our best player. We remember what he has been doing. The same with Xhaka.
If you dont like the boos, youre part of the shit show that we are. Having an standard of the minimum that a player has to contribute is what make clubs great. If nothings really matter, you become complacent and everything its the same because no one really cares. No changes has been made by just waiting for it. If we want our club back, we have to be ruthless.
Just a few thoughts on this whole incident and some of the reactions on here:
There have been suggestions that this whole incident is the outcome of abuse that Xhaka and his wife have received over social media. I don’t condone that but like I have said this many times here in the past, if you are a public figure, who chooses to be on social media, you have to have a thick skin. If you lose sleep over what some random stranger thinks of you, get the hell off social media and stay away.
There is a lot of talk on here and in the media about how the fans were wrong and behaved badly. I just want to know how else are the fans supposed to show their discontentment and frustration towards a player, team, manager? As paying customers, should they not have a say in what they wish to see? If you buy a product and it fails repeatedly, are you not entitled to tell the manufacturer what you really think of his product? This was nothing but multiple customers expressing their dissatisfaction together. Also, the fans are more than just paying customers because there is an emotional factor involved here. If they are expected to support the team, they also reserve the right to express their dissatisfaction.
There seems to be very little talk about what caused the incident on Sunday, and more about the incident itself. And no, I am not referring to Xhaka throwing the captains arm band towards Auba, or walking off the pitch slowly. Am referring to the years of under-performance by the team on the pitch. I know we cannot expect to win titles every year but what about winning against the likes of Sheffield United or the worst United team in decades or putting in one convincing performance this season? Having said that, there are undoubtedly some entitled fans in our fan base as there are in every big club.
Xhaka’s actions showed disrespect towards the captaincy, his team mates (by throwing the armband towards Auba instead of handing it to him), his manager, and of course, the fans. There should be no coming back from this.
I am starting to wonder if the players chose such a shit captain so that he can’t point a finger at them when they play like shit? Is it their weak mentality that is reflected in Xhaka’s captaincy?
As for this incident affecting the mentality of other players adversely, I agree that that might happen but this wasn’t planned and was a spur of the moment thing. Had Xhaka not reacted, this would have hardly been an incident. So the blame is on both sides for this.
It’s not that easy though is it? If it was just a random stranger saying “you’re shit” or some boos then I’m sure Xhaka would be totally OK with it. But his family get pelters all the time too. Him and his wife have just had a baby, and the pair of them are battered week in week out. I guess she chose to marry him so she should just get on with it too eh? Or divorce him. Easy.
I’m trying to imagine what a manager like Alex Ferguson would’ve done.
1 he would have been bollocking Xhaka for his repeated blunders so badly that Xhaka would think being booed by the crowd was the equivalent of being hit by a feather
2 he would’ve dropped and sold Xhaka long before this incident anyway
3 he would’ve had someone by hook or by crook now worthy of being the on field captain and he would’ve have picked him himself- not have a player vote
4 he would’ve ensured any captain disrespecting the shirt was instantly dealt with without fear of what any other player thought and any revolution against him would’ve been squashed before it could get started.
Please Josh and Raul - I’m begging you to sack Emery and to sell Xhaka as soon as you can after instantly stripping him of the captaincy first.
