Granit Xhaka has, so far, not agreed to issue an apology to the Arsenal supporters. The Switzerland international has been in the line of fire since last weekend after his controversial angry reaction to his substitution in the Crystal Palace game.
The reason why Xhaka lost his cool was because when his substitution was announced, the home crowd cheered it before booing the midfielder as he was leaving the playing area.
Xhaka gestured to the crowd that he didn’t care about their boos and took off his jersey and threw it away as he reached the dug-out.
Xhaka’s reaction left the Gunners supporters totally shocked and they didn’t take it lightly at all. They have demanded Xhaka’s removal as captain saying that his reaction showed disrespect towards the club.
However, as per the reports, the Arsenal skipper has his teammates by his side who are of the view that the crowd shouldn’t have booed him.
It was only before the start of the ongoing season that Xhaka was named the new captain of Arsenal. The players voted in his favour to lead the Gunners.
The players rate him as a leader which is why it’s not an easy decision for the Arsenal hierarchy to take the captain’s armband away from Xhaka.
Whether he remains captain or not, one thing is for sure that the 27-year old will be fined and will have to pay a heavy amount.
The quantum of Xhaka’s punishment will be clear later today when the Arsenal boss Unai Emery addresses the press. That is actually a pre-match press conference for the Liverpool game, but Xhaka’s punishment will be the key topic.
Xhaka had signed for Arsenal three years back from the German club Borussia Monchengladbach. His current weekly salary at the Emirates Stadium is a hundred thousand pounds.