According to Mark Irwin of the Sun, the club have been unable to persuade Granit Xhaka to make a public apology for his actions in the aftermath of Sunday’s incident. Members of the media and Arsenal’s wider fan base have been quick to condemn Xhaka’s reaction but it appears there are no signs of this situation blowing over – with the Swiss international yet to make any sort of public apology.
Given the fierce criticism the player has had to endure in the past couple of days, are the supporters expecting an apology from the 27-year-old midfielder?
Perhaps I’m out of touch on this but do fans really want or expect an apology? Using the same logic, should the fans who ironically jeered him apologise, too? Personally, would much rather we don’t further ostracise a player who’s hurting, accept what happened & move on. Fast.
— Andrew (@PR_WhoRu) October 29, 2019
Let’s just keep booing Xhaka. His apology doesn’t mean much tbh.
— zafar (@zaf__ar) October 29, 2019
The club’s captain has been booed, he did what he did after it and no one at the club is speaking about it. No apologies from Xhaka, Emery didn’t say anything, no club’s statement about it. Laca and Auba liking “Emery out” posts and Özil is laughing at us all. We’re mess
— Aubazettes (@Aubazettes) October 29, 2019
The funny thing is that the Xhaka apology could be easily crafted to make everyone happy and probably make the whole thing go away but who would trust the people involved to get it right?
— YankeeGunner (@YankeeGunner) October 29, 2019
Remember when all the fan groups got together and wrote a letter to the Kroenke family asking for more funds? How about you lot get together again and write an apology letter to Granit Xhaka? He might repay you with some passion for the badge and world class performances.
— Niall ? (@niallmoran_) October 28, 2019
Given we were told it was the players who voted Xhaka as the club’s captain, some fans believe Emery now finds himself facing a difficult predicament.
He’ll lose the players if he strips Xhaka of the captaincy, and he’ll lose the fans if he don’t
— ronnie (@_ronniethompson) October 29, 2019
What do we think?
Opinion is divided in regards to whether or not the supporters are owed an apology. Some have leapt to the defence of their captain, claiming the level of abuse he received was simply unacceptable and that it is, in fact, the supporters that owe him an apology. Others feel the window has passed and there’s no chance of repairing relations between the player and supporters.
The bigger picture however is that this is another issue lingering around the Emirates Stadium like a bad smell. Emery’s ability to manage player relationships has been questioned in the past, the most famous example being his power struggle with Brazilian superstar Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain.
With each passing week, the pressure on the Spaniard grows. Not only are his tactics and team selections being questioned but he’s now having to deal with delicate situations involving his players and some of the clubs most passionate supporters.