Granit Xhaka Is ‘Devastated And Sad’ After Emirates Incident – Unai Emery

Unai Emery revealed that Granit Xhaka was distraught after the incident at the Emirates on Sunday.

The midfielder reacted poorly when Arsenal fans started to boo him and he has been thrust into a circle of hate ever since.

Xhaka told off the Gunners faithful while walking off the pitch in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace. For that, his captaincy has come into question and many believe he might have played his last game for Arsenal.

Addressing the situation, Unai Emery said ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool, “It’s not easy for him and for the team. He is now devastated, devastated and sad. We spoke yesterday and on Sunday night I also spoke. This morning, he trained as normal with the group but he is devastated and he is sad about the situation. His commitment with the club is a great commitment every time. He wants to help. His behaviour was perfect in training, with the group and with the club.

“He knows he was wrong. He was wrong and he feels it inside very deeply. But that is normal as a human. You need – and every player needs – the supporters’ support. Support them, support the team. We spoke and I spoke a lot with him also about that. We need to learn and when we are having good matches and good moments, they applaud us and we are happy. But when we are in one difficult moment or we are receiving some criticism, we need to also be strong and to know and to learn to play under that pressure.

“It’s our work, it’s our job and the supporters, they are the most important in our life. Because if there aren’t supporters, there aren’t fans and there aren’t people behind us, there is no reason to play professional football without our fans.

“Now, he is down. He is down and the most important thing now is that we look after him, his family. Look after him, the club, the team and also recover our best Granit Xhaka. After that wrong situation on Sunday, I have one challenge every time, for myself and also for the team and every and each player.

“When the supporters – our followers – are unhappy with us because maybe now we need to play, now we need to control the matches better and improve things to be stronger, we need them. But first it’s for us and we need to take one step ahead.

“Individual circumstances like Sunday, they are coming because as a team we need to improve and we need to be more comfortable and transmit to the supporters and show better performances and the results for them. When we will do that, they are going to support us collectively and individually.”