According to the Metro, Arsenal misfit Granit Xhaka told Swiss broadcaster SRF that he ‘can’t accept what’s happened’ with him following his outburst towards some supporters during the side’s draw against Crystal Palace.
The midfielder also added that he was happy for the international break to come to an end, so he could ‘finally sort matters out’ with the club following the drama.
The report hints that Xhaka is suggesting showdown talks with the Gunners, in a bid to clear the air over the incident that left him stripped of the captaincy.
Here’s what the Swiss star had to say to SRF:
‘I have a clear idea as to how things should proceed, and Arsenal know this as well.’
‘Although I still have a contract with them, I will be glad to return to the club – so we can finally sort matters out.’
‘There will surely be a solution – as I can’t accept what has happened with me.’
Unai Emery recently hinted, as per the club’s official website, that the 27-year-old could return to action for the Gunners against Southampton tomorrow.
The Spaniard’s comments suggest that the ‘matters’ that Xhaka was hoping to sort out are no longer an issue as he revealed that the midfielder is “feeling that his team is Arsenal team now”.
Xhaka has been on the sidelines ever since the incident, his potential return will certainly be a serious talking point within the football world – will it come against Southampton tomorrow afternoon?
These people are determined to ruin Arsenal as a football club. The fans made their feelings about Xhaka as a football player very clear. He took offence to their commentary on his lack of ability lazy play and weekly screwing up the team and told them to “F**k off” It would be most welcome if he took his own advice. Nothing personal.
Instead we have a clueless idiot for a manager who is bending over backwards and doing everything in his power to get this useless player back in the team. We need to get rid of the two of them fast before the decline becomes terminal
Akan – you’ve summed things up very nicely. Our ‘clueless idiot for a manager’ may also play Kolasinac instead of Tierney in his lineup too. He’s no good as a footballer so I guess he must run around a lot in training – which seems to be Emery’s main criteria for selection.
I am sorry Akan but i would also take offense if my own fans booed me, wished for my wife to die and my daughter to get cancer. What Xhaka did was wrong but totally understandable. It’s fans like you that give Arsensal a bad name. Why don’t you boo the manager for playing him? Unlike you i will support every single player that wants to represent our great club.
And thats how we fell to mediocrity as a club. You support any lump that puts on our kit.
We regress while you cheer Xhaka, Sokratis, Luiz and the average trash littering our club.
Don’t complain or you are a hypocrite, based on your cheering any player wearing our shirt as you said.
The fact that he cannot accept what’s happened to him, goes someway to explaining his dreadful attempt at an apology. Xhaka needs to realise that’s it’s not the incident that put the fans off him, it’s his consistently poor performances for over 3 years.
I never want to see him play for us again, because he’s our worst player. He’s had more than enough opportunities under two managers, and keeps flopping. I do have some sympathy as both Wenger, and Emery, seem to think he’s a DM. Even so, Xhaka keeps making costly mistakes, unrelated to position. Just think of that ridiculous challenge he made for the Spur’s penalty this season.
The fact that you yourself cannot accept what happened to him, the abuse he and his family has been subjected to on and off the field by people like yourself (I presume).
What I cannot stand are grown up men and women that love to give it the big “COME ON THEN” but the moment they get a bit of pushback they start crying like lost puppies and kittens searching for their mommy.
Are you our fellow fans also going to apologise for the way you behaved prior to him retaliating?
Just saying.
@Goonster
First of all, I have NEVER abused Xhaka! Saying someone is rubbish, and wanting them out, is not abuse. It’s my opinion (wanting him gone), based on factual evidence (he has been terrible, and everyone can see it), in regards to his on field performances, and nothing personal. Please explain how that is abuse?
As I keep saying, I want him gone, and it’s got nothing to do with the incident. But as you have brought it up, Xhaka was in the wrong to do that. He is in a position of authority, and is meant to act responsible, and be above all that. We, the fans, the press, and pundits have the right criticise. Those in the stadium have the right to boo. If you expect the fans to cheer, then surely one has to accept it when they also jeer. Especially at the insane prices they are having to pay.
As I have said multiple times, the abuse he, and his family has received via social media is a disgrace, and is not reflective of the wider fan base. And when I say “abuse”, am talking about personal insults, death threats, threats of violence, etc. Not passionate rants, right after a game when tensions are still high, regarding his performances, and that alone.
I expect an apology from you for making such slanderous comments about me abusing Xhaka. Do not think your “(I presume)” at the end of that first sentence absolves you.
I don’t buy this position of authority nonsense.
I can understand the PC behind it but I just don’t buy it.
Xhaka is about 27-28 years old. You have grown ass men that are old enough to be his father abusing him and his family. How come it is okay for 40-70 year olds to hurl abuse at 20-27 year olds but expect the 20 year olds to be the grown ups about it?
I remember it also happened to another player about 4-5 seasons back, not sure who it was but he was 19 years old or something (i think it was Stirling or Dele Alli). These grown ass men were swearing it him touch line constantly throughout the whole match. He retaliated and they all were besides themselves calling all football talk shows crying about how that 20 year old should have acted like a role model because he has kids that look up to him blah blah. And that he should apologise to those men that were old enough to be his grandfather.
I have never been a fan of Xhaka and will never rate him. But what he did towards our petulant man-children i can understand.
Again, life is not all fluffy and cuddly. If you think you are man or woman enough to give it the old “Mouthful” then don’t get all sensitive and emotional when there is retaliation against you.
That is all I am saying.
Sorry mate, i was trying to make a general point.
Not specific to you personally.
I meant all the people that were abusing him.
He himself is a human that has emotions just like our fans. I just think that it had been building up and when his family got the abuse on social media, he was on the edge. Then to top it off the whole crowd booed him off the pitch. He felt like a man under attack and cornered. The heat of the moment got the best of him as it did our own fans.
I 100% understand why he reacted the way he did.
It would have been okay with me if he had just walked off the pitch without retaliating. I also was okay with me that he told the boo-boys to fck off.
Each of those 2 reactions from him would have been fine with me either way.
And i hoped Giroud also told us to fck off after the nonsense personal insults we kept hurling at him. I was one of the people that used to say “Giroud was low level / Second rate” but never got to the level of calling him a donkey, lamppost, fcker, cvnt etc like most people.
And if Giroud had reacted like Xhaka did, i would have been mad but would have manned-up and moved on.
Life is not all cutie sweetie.
I wish to associate myself with EVERY WORD you so correctly wrote. Online abuse by moronic imbeciles has nothing whatever to do with booing a player who is consistently dreadful on the field. This right to boo a poor player is preciouis and must be retained They are two totally separate issues as you rightly said. Well done Third MaN JW.
Goonster has written some good posts on here but in this instance he is not thinking clearly and he is failing to distinguish between two separate matters.
I would be very surprised if xhaka plays for us again in the prem. I would be very surprised if Emery picks him again. Wenger played players up until the day before they left, knowing they were going, i doubt that sort of thing will happen with xhaka. If it does, its just not going to solve anything but create more problems. Any fool can see that.
Reggie, who were the players Wenger played up until the day before they left, knowing they were going?
I can’t think of anyone, except Martin Keown, who he played for the last five minutes in order for him to get a PL winners medal as I recall, but that’s not to say he didn’t do it other times, so please give me the players names for my historical curiosity – thanks.
UE will choose who he believes will win him the game – let’s wait and see who that will be and then start to praise or criticise him.
@Ken1945
Selective memory? I can think of a couple. Chamberlain, Van Persie and Nasri.
Ken-Wenger played Sagna in the FA Cup Final against Hull knowing he had no intention of renewing his contract and was off on a free to Man City where he actually won………Nothing.
Here we go again Ken, with your old “please supply written evidence ” routine. You missed your true vocation old chum. You should have been a barrister! Even when I was properly in business I never kept old records longer than I legally had too. Do you keep them though, I sometimes wonder!
Looks clear to me from what Xhaka has said that he has already informed the club he wants to leave. This is fine and I doubt many people would complain if he left. Anyway, I’ve just about had enough of these Xhaka articles. He is not a key player and hardly does anything to justify all this attention. Let’s forget about him please.
The last time I checked xhaka is still under contract @ arsenal,and to be honest he’s not our worst player,he had already bn punished , our best midfield trio remains xhaka,torriera and ozil, ghendouzi in soo many ways hinders our flow and deserve to be on the bench,our best moments under emery was when he paired torriera with xhaka in that middle!
Agree that Xhaka and Torreira did really well last season. It’s when Guendouzi became a regular starter, we started facing big issues in the midfield.
When has xhaka, Torreira etc been good together?
We had the same old problems. The unbeaten run was somewhat of a fluke. You could still see glaring weaknesses during that period and knew that once the adrenaline subsided then we would be exposed.
During our unbeaten run everything that was supposed to go our way did go our way. We played on adrenaline and testosterone. That is how it seemed to me.
I was of the same thinking as Paul Merson. I could feel that once our luck and adrenaline dried up we would be back to normal. We have been abysmal since that run.
I might be a Xhaka out fan but I stood by him during his problem cos I know how it feels.
Yes I have wanted him gone since Wenger’s day and still want him gone cos his best is not good for English football.
But since the issue that happened between him and the fan, have been thinking he has suffered so much bully.
Fan says, they booed him cos of his play for the past 3 seasons and he shouldn’t react to the boos cos people who abuse him on social media are not Arsenal Fan or people coming to stadium. Other club fan will care less to abuse him, they will be happy for him to rubbish. Only Arsenal Fan can get nut and do that cos of his play.
But have you think about this…
1) How many time Xhaka will have to console his wife about the abuse of Fan on social media.
2) How many times he comes home and met his wife crying and ask what happened and she said, someone wished her unborn baby to have cancer?
If you think Xhaka was offended cos of the boos, then you’re getting it wrong.
All this might be causing him sleepless night.
People saying super star get boo and get threatened but take it or leave it, the abuse he received was more powerful to be threatened and I never see a football who’s wife pass through such trauma.
That said, Xhaka need to go for the good of him and the club