Unai Emery Defends Midfielder After Fans Boo Him Off

Unai Emery rushed to Granit Xhaka’s defence when the midfielder was booed off the pitch on Sunday.

In Arsenal’s comeback 3-2 win over Aston Villa, the supporters experienced plenty of emotions about their players and the manager.

One particularly which caught the eye of neutrals were the fans’ reaction to Xhaka being substituted off the game. The Gunner were already a man down after Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off in the first and they needed to play their way back into the game.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed a comeback after two equalisers from Nicholas Pepe and Calum Chambers but the celebratory noises were heard far before the end of the fixture. Arsenal supporters were pleased to see Joe Willock getting on in place of Xhaka in the 72nd minute.

“We need our supporters and we need them helping each player,” Emery said in the post-match press conference “It is our responsibility to transmit our commitment and Xhaka is doing this.

“He played very well on Thursday [against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League] and last week at Watford he did well. Here, I changed him because he played for 90 minutes on Thursday and I wanted to bring fresh players on.

“But Xhaka is a very important player for us. He has a big commitment here, he is improving. I am not asking people to support him but I assure you he is going to achieve his best things if the supporters help him.

“We are professional; Xhaka is an experienced player and he knows sometimes we can receive criticism and we need to be mature and continue working.

“For me, he is a very important player and I am going to support him. I am going to decide when he plays and when he doesn’t, but he is important for us because his commitment and behaviour is great and he is a good player.”

Guendouzi ended making a huge difference for his side, earning the praise of both the fans and his manager. Emery said, “With Matteo, last year when he came here he progressed and he is progressing,” he said. “Really, I like that spirit he has. He has talent but above all I like his attitude, his energy, his commitment and his behaviour.

“He’s one player who is angry when he is not playing but I like that. When you decide that they play you know they will give you what you need. I want to be calm with him. He is humble, continuing to improve and growing up with us.”