Granit Xhaka finally broke his silence and blamed death threats to his family for his surprising reaction to boos from Arsenal fans during the match held at the Emirates. The Arsenal captain reacted furiously when he was sarcastically greeted by fans following his substitution during the Gunners' 2-2 draw with Crystal palace last Sunday. He mouthed a curse word at the fans before removing his shirt and moving down to the tunnel.
Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka: —Cheered when subbed off
—Booed because he was walking
—Cupped his ear to the crowd
—Took his shirt off and walked down the tunnel pic.twitter.com/aGpmZXvwii — B/R Football (@brfootball) October 27, 2019
Arsenal's coach Unai Emery encouraged Granit Xhaka to make an apology in the wake of the incident. However, the Swiss footballer waited for several days before addressing the situation. Xhaka posted his statement explaining his behavior to the jeering Arsenal fans.
"He's wrong but we need to speak inside with him, and also to be calm about that reaction." Unai Emery speaks after his side threw away a 2-0 lead and Granit Xhaka reacted angrily to Arsenal fans' jeers. Match report and highlights: https://t.co/eDzXOWle2A pic.twitter.com/FoOTFaL6mK — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 27, 2019
The words on Xhaka's statement sound curious and try to address a couple of issues on two fronts. The Arsenal captains called for unity while providing rebuke of the critical elements of the team's fan base. Although apologetic, Xhaka recalled earlier episodes of abuse in various social media outlets including threats against his daughter and wife and made a solid point of not absolving some supporters in triggering his surprising response.
The following is a message from Granit Xhaka... pic.twitter.com/YG5lBKmQvi — Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 31, 2019
Granit Xhaka also called for mutual respect in his statement. It is somehow a sensible attempt to make amends and heal the relationship between the Gunners' supporters and squad. During the pre-season action just this summer, Shkodran Mustafi was booed while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was allegedly heckled at when he left the stadium last Sunday according to The Independent.
Some Arsenal fans have become frustrated with the lack of progress made by the team following Unai Emery's replacement of Arsene Wenger last year. Many think Wenger was the root of all the issues at the team that last won a title more than 15 years ago. Granit Xhaka has usually borne the brunt of the alleged frustrations as a longstanding team issue.
