In an interview with the Sun, Arsenal star Hector Bellerin has looked back on his “call for unity” following the Granit Xhaka controversy before reiterating that the Gunners family “need to be there for each other” when the going gets tough.
Midfielder Xhaka sparked controversy when he told some supporters to “f*** off” when he was substituted during Arsenal’s draw against Crystal Palace last month.
The Swiss star’s actions took the football world by storm and he’s since been stripped of the captaincy and has been left on the sidelines.
The 24-year-old strongly believes that everyone should be united moving forward:
“Those words (his tweet), what you’ve just read, are just how I felt after the few events we’ve had in the past few weeks.”
“It’s been hard as a player in the dressing room to deal with these situations.”
“I think it’s important as a club, as everything being divided is never the way forward.”
“Everyone demands different things, everyone demands different changes – but I don’t think that’s the way.”
“I think the [right] way is accepting who we are, what we have, getting everyone together, supporting each other, and that is the way that we can reach our goals.”
“One doing one thing, one doing the other… that’s never going to work.”
Here’s Bellerin’s tweet after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace:
We are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it's not easy dealing with them. It's time to lift each other up, not to push each other away. We only win when we are together. #COYG pic.twitter.com/dkDI7M3xew
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) October 28, 2019
Bellerin also added that his tweet was his ‘call for unity’:
“That was my call for unity in terms of us as a club, as a family, everything that Arsenal is.”
“To get together when things don’t go well, that is the time for us to tap each other on the back and be like ‘come on, we need to do this better but we’re going to come back on top’.”
“That is what we need, not to start pointing fingers and blaming someone for doing this, for doing that…”
“We’re a club, we’re a team, we’re a family. What we need is to be there for each other.”
“We are Arsenal Football Club. We always need to be at the top.”
Bellerin’s response to the heated situation has shown just how mature he is.
The way the he speaks about the need for teamwork to make the club’s dream work is a perfect example of why he’ll make a fine leader in the future.
The Gunners are winless in their last four Premier League games, leaving them sitting in sixth place.
Unai Emery will be hoping to steer his side to a comfortable win against relegation candidates Southampton this weekend.
Perhaps Bellerin should try giving Xhaka the hairdryer treatment. If Xhaka played worth a damn he wouldn’t have issues with the fans.
looks like you didn’t read one word of Bellerin’s tweet.He called for unity. Unlike you i support all our players..including Xhaka.
Support Xhaka? Man you have serious issues
This is a man and is a result of the Wenger era. He has grown into a man!
No Xhaka tomorrow please
Weather he plays or not he receives his weekly wages,and moreover the team has not bn playing better without him rather we v become worse! Our best midfield combo remains xhaka/torriera with oxil ahead of them!