The Arsenal Times

Unai Emery has said Granit Xhaka is “devastated, sad and very down” about what happened against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon (October 27).

The Swiss international was taken off after 61 minutes, which was met with ironic cheers by the crowd when his number went up.

Xhaka looked visibly disappointed to be coming off and threw the captain’s armband towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He trudged slowly towards the sideline, which sparked a chorus of boos and jeers from some of the fans.

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But Xhaka’s response, which was described by Emery as “wrong” following the game, was to wave his arms in the air and cup his ears to the home crowd.

He then told the supporters to “f*** off” and pulled his shirt off as he stormed down the tunnel.

But Emery said in his press conference at London Colney today (October 29) that Xhaka is very upset about the situation.

Emery said: “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.”

‘He was wrong and feels it inside very deeply’

He continued: “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.”

Emery has urged the fans to get behind the team and continue to support the players on matchday.

He added: “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.

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“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.”

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