I often remind gooners what Arsene Wenger said in his final year at Arsenal Football Club,something like: ‘There was disrespect from some of our fans I will never forget’. It was a warning that Arsenal, on and off the pitch, with a reputation for doing things the ‘right way’, are in danger of losing our proud values.
This week we are debating our captain Granit Xhaka being verbally abused by his own supporters and deciding to swear back at them. Just think about that, the kind of embarrassment we used to look down on Chelsea for.
I’m sure our PR department will put out some statement to tick a box, maybe even the player himself will be forced to apologise. Yet let’s grow up about it and act likes adults. If you swore to someone in the street, in the shop, etc, on the law of averages they are going to answer back.
It’s never dawned on me to swear at one of our own. Number one it contradicts the idea of being a supporter. 2 , it’s counterproductive, he’s less likely to get better if confidence is low, which in effect harms the team’s chances of winning, something I have invested money into hoping to see and 3, I have never been one to get angry about sport , disappointed yes, but to get to the level where I resort to name calling?
Listening to the radio, looking on social media, it’s amazing that those who seem so offended are the ones who do the offence every week. In the case of Arsenal Fan TV, they have built views on who can be the most disrespectful to whoever happens to be the scapegoat, boy do we love a scapegoat.
It’s only Xhaka because Mustafi was bullied out of the squad, he was booed by his own fans in pre-season and spoke about how online trolls have hurt him mentally. I guess that’s allowed because he didn’t confront us?
Some have tried to rewrite history about how we always supported Ramsey. The reality being I have been at games where he was targeted.
Then of course there was Arsene Wenger, the greatest manager in our history, who was rewarded with banners, chants and even video footage of being laughed at when he fell at a train station.
So, it’s okay for these make-believe gangsters to get views and subscribers by looking into a screen shouting, knowing no one can answer. Yet wow, look how they have reacted when someone shouts back. It’s a great human experiment.
The conclusion?……..Like most bullies they don’t like when the bullied push back.
Don’t get me wrong in an ideal world the Switzerland international doesn’t throw down the armband or cup his ear but he’s not a robot, he’s a person with feelings.
This wasn’t a one off. He and his family have been targeted on the internet. His wife was verbally abused outside the Emirates.
Guess what, if you were not good at your job, that wouldn’t give individuals the right to say whatever they want. I heard how captains like Henry or Viera wouldn’t have responded like this. It’s hard to say, as it very rarely happened due to social media not being an issue in their era.
I know we supported the likes of Tony Adams during his personal problems, that wouldn’t happen today.
I would struggle to think of any ex-player though who would agree that Xhaka deserves abuse. It doesn’t help a Joe Willock or Saka in midweek knowing that’s the fans they represent. It could be the difference between playing it safe or trying something creative at Anfield.
I have a canvas on my wall. It’s a picture of Henry sliding in front of Spurs fans after scoring. When asked did he not think that was provocative, he said they had sworn at him all game, it was only right he gave it back.
So what’s the difference?
Dan Smith
Professionals are paid as high as they are for not just their footballing skills but also to act as ambassadors or role models showing their club principles and ideologies. Arsenal are not Stoke City, we expect better from our players and.much better from our captain. While Xhaka would be disappointed with how he is targetted, I expect him to come out and apologize for his behavior. I will also expect him to come out and put in a string of strong displays on the pitch
Ozil, Mustafi and him have shown their maximum abilities since Wenger’s final seasons and it’s not good enough. Can only hope for the youngsters to achieve what the senior players can’t get
Xhaka’s reaction could be good for the team though, because Emery would have to replace him with another midfielder
Varun, as an Arsenal supporter I expect a higher standard of behaviour from fellow Arsenal supporters, than I do from Millwall or Leeds United supporters for example. As Dan Smith states this is not “class” behaviour.
Great article about bullies
However, the footballers and the managers should have known the risks when they take the job. This is why they are paid higher than what most doctors, engineers, soldiers and scientists get monthly
If they can’t take the heat of being celebrities, they have to quit. The criticisms, be it positive or negative, are the reflection of their contributions in the field
So what a lot of people are paid good money out workplaces don’t see managers yelling cancerous chants at them no because you all have rights.Just because the’re paid well doesn’t mean you criticise however you want.If you want respect you better show it back and if you want players to play for the badge than show them respect it’s that simple.You are paying money because you want to no one’s forcing you to watch so money doesn’t have anything to….
ADMIN COMMENT
If you don’t stop swearing you will never get a comment approved. Why is it necessary?
@ gotanidea Does that mean there families get paid to be abused too
👍
Xhaka is quick to take the plaudits but the other side of the coin he throws his toys out of the pram not acceptable for a professional player to do SAD
This things is happening because Emery can’t successfully manage this team, xhaka have been targeted and has not been playing well the least you can do as a manager is to give him a rest and stop starting him in matches you have someone like torriera one of fans favourite you can always play him let xhaka come in from the bench if need be. The whole world has been targeting xhaka for some time now it has been slowly heating up, I remember he was booed some weeks back when he was been subbed.
Why do Emery keep exposing him and then subs him its criminal from Emery’s side.
There was so much made of Granit Xhaka captaining Arsenal, but it’s unlikely he will take the armband again. He took his shirt off, gestured and swore at the fans before storming off down the tunnel.
After that it seems the fans turned on Emery as they chanted in support of a player who has been left out of the team:
Crowd singing “We’ve got Mesut Ozil” en masse. Pretty pointed message to Emery, that.
Ozil is an interesting one, it always feels like the Arsenal fans blame him when anything goes wrong because of his body language and fairly relaxed playing style. Now that he’s out of the team, it feels like they think he’s a potential saviour and want him to play as much as possible.
The result leaves Arsenal only three points ahead of Man United who have been criticised from all angles this season, so it might not be enough for Emery to plead for more patience and to trust his processes.
He faces a tough choice over Ozil, if he brings him back then it undermines his authority, but the longer he leaves him out it reflects badly too. It’s like that situation is exactly the same as the one he’s engineered for the team on matchdays – you just can’t figure out how he’s going to win.
Emery simply lacks man management skills
In an ideal world, I’d expect the club, the manager, the players to come out in support of a team mate. Not just the captain, but a team mate. Looking at the stats, Xhaka didn’t even play badly. He was actually our most progressive passer often going for most risky passes straight to the forwards. If I’m right, he had 6 final third entry passes from his position at the base of the midfield. Unfortunately in this politically correct world, the club has to find a way to make the fans feel important and so they’ll likely ask Xhaka to apologize, maybe fine him, the coach might even bench him for a few days but I don’t think that’s the fairest reaction. Looking at how Xhaka has played since the international break, he’s actually trying to improve. He’s fouling less, playing the ball forwards, covering out of position teammates. Exactly what the fans are asking, so expect him to feel irked when they still boo.
How many times has “Prince” Ozil leisurely walked off the pitch even slower than Xhaka?
Andre Ayew did even worse than Xhaka today, but I didn’t see palace fans boo.
If you have the time, watch the last 3 PL games again with a focus on Xhaka and tell me he’s not actually trying to do all that fans are asking of him.
To make it worse, the media. The crisis at arsenal is bad, but the media is making it worse. No outlet is reporting what was done to xhaka. Only his response
Once again am happy reading your comments Joe well written. I pointed out how Ayew was visibly angry when substituted yesterday to a fan(Gogo)also I don’t think any player who knows his worth will be happy when being taken off, that said fans now citing why he was booed being was because he was strolling seems to forget he was also booed against Sheffield United.
Who gets paid for the performance? Xhaka and the players/coaches are indebted to the fans /supporters, not the opposite.Get that into your brain Mr. Granit Xhaka, if you cannot, leave our great club. If you do not want boos from the fans, put in 100% every week, learn from your mistakes and come back stronger. That is the attitude of a pro, not a cranky spoiled kid! Every human makes mistakes, every team does loose, but we want you/team to learn from the mistakes and make a statement in the next match. You are lucky to have Unai as your coach, ask any City / Pool player to misbehave and note the consequences. His inflated ego will not permit him to apologize. Hope the club acts tough with him and prevent any other player from disrespecting the jersey or the fans. We went to Anfield and got battered, Spurs go there and get a point. This proves that our players do not have the character nor the motivation nor the guts to boss the EPL any more. A tough no nonsense coach is urgently required and a clearance of all the non performers – Ozil , Xhaka, Kolas, Socrates, AMN. and give chances to the youth. Chelsea seem to be doing fine with the youngsters and Lamps, why the same cannot be replicated at AFC?
Good article and got to admit I dont like this sorr of thing around our club but I completely get it and I’m the same but at my TV screen.
Personally I think its Emery we should be booing and calling out due to the fact that hes continually selected s player off form and struggling. He has a repsknbiltiy to xhaka and the other players to protect them and to get the best out of them
Wenger did it soth Ramsey ‘his favourite’ now Emery with xhaka. Its enery who is at fault hugely.
Personally the likes of mustafi and xhaka etc may probably never recover from this after all it’s pretty hard to deal with.
Some may say great let’s sell then then but it’s not as simple as this.
Saying all this I hope shake comes out with a statement saying sorry bit also politely explaining how he feels and what hrs been through.
Remember booing the team and not giving the ball back to bellerin for a throw in? This sort of thing leads to our players like ox, kos etc. All wanting out.
There’s a lot of racist scum that support Arsenal. They give Mustafi abuse also. This is the same right wing scum that vote for Brexit
Of course racists. Are they the same fans that are racist towards The Kroenke’s because we have all booed at any mention of the Kroenkes in the past. “People bringing banners to the stadium calling him Silent Stan and Yank blood sucker etc.
Racist towards wenger because I remember fans booing him out of frustration in his later days.
Ramsey was constantly booed back then and in 2012 was booed more visibly. Bendtner was booed. Mertesacker was booed. Emery is being called all sorts of names. EBOUE was booed. RVP was booed. Cesc etc.
Stop the rubbish.
Arsenal became the first ever club in English foitball to field a non British/ English starting 11 in the early 2000’s.
I have never heard or seem our fanbase boo any player for not being British or English. We have been and continue to be the most diverse club in ENgland later on Europe. And all these different players of different nationalities have been idolised and keep idolised by us all.
Stop your rubbish.
Sh
Goonster, what delicious irony it is that the young immature fool who brands all who voted Brexit as “racist” thus showing his own juvenile mentality, is clearly way too young to have read the Billy Bunter books that were undeniably racist in certain areas and as old fashioned and colonial in tone as books come. Those days are mercifully largely now dead, at least in Britain, whether we Brits voted Brexit or Remain. So how ironic that he should unwittingly – I use “unwittignly” deliberately – use the name Billy Bunter. I an sure the irony will be lost on him though.
So 17 million people in the UK are racists Billy ?
What a stupid post …grow up .
I still miss reading Enid Blightons “Noddy” books because I was a fan of “golliwogs”.
Anyone who thinks Allegri would come to Arsenal are placing misplaced hope in our club.
We are not ambitious enough for Allegri. He will go Man U where they are willing to spend big in the transfer market to back their coach in. We won’t.
True with regards to transfer budget, but Allegri is also doesn’t currently speak English, let alone Manchurian.
We as a club are losing our moral values at an alarming rate these days. The abuse aimed at Wenger calling him a fraud etc, Mustafi booed during preseason and heckled outside The Emirates and now Xhaka and his family. I won’t even touch upon Özil now. There are commenters in here using words like Fraud & Leper without batting an eyelid so one can imagine it coming from a stadium full of people, with a few foul mouths amongst them. I’m against booing our own players or manager, much less heckling, so this is a real slide down our value systems which we all are so proud of.
Xhaka’s response was coming for a while, however disrespectful he was. Emery kept playing him despite him being out of form, and thus has become the lighting rod for Al of Emery’s faults. Why does Emery insist on playing out of form players, and play them out of position? It was Mustafi last year, it’s is Xhaka this year.
Coming back to what happened yesterday, we still haven’t learnt from what Mustafi said he went through as a person, after his mistreatment by our fans. Aren’t we even bothered about destroying our own players’ confidence? Will that not affect our players when they go on to the pitch? I’m sure they’ll be worried about commuting an error and hence will play safe, Dan said.
This needs to stop and we need to hold on to our values.
@varun
Problem is xhaka putting in a strong display is usually upping his physical efforts and gaining cards in the process.
It was interesting to see ian wright and crouchy discuss it in motd they both could see each argument but Wright was almost shaky with anger.
It does beg the question though that doing this is not sending out a good message to future players we may want to sign, if were not careful well become a real Madrid type atmosphere.
I can understand the frustration towards Xhaka for a lot of fans. I am one of those that have not rated him since we signed him under wenger. We all agree that he is not the most talented and should not be Arsenal starting material.
My only contention is that Xhaka has been made the fall guy and Emery refuses to protect him. We have 2 sets of fans that all want Xhaka out for different reasons. Set 1, those the think he is not good enough to start. I am one of this group.
Set 2, those the are against him just because a certain favourite player is being frozen out of the team. They are taking out all their frustrations on Xhaka being selected ahead of him constantly. It was Iwobi last season. And the funny thing is that Iwobi and Xhaka play in completely different position to that player but it has never stopped people from targeting these players.
Xhaka is not that talented but he gives the best of his ability. The best of his ability might not be good enough for Arsenal but what more can he do? The manager and the whole squad seem to trust him, hence why he was voted unanimously by his peers to lead them / be their captain. The manager also seems to like him.
We should blame the manager and Xhakas peers that seem to see him in a completely different light than us.
I just hate booing individual players that try, fight and give the best to their ability, even if their best is still substandard to what is deemed good enough gor the team. The manager should also read the frustration from the fans and try to protect that player.
Reminds me of when EBOUE was booed off the field a few seasons ago, the frustration towards him was building and boiling amongst the fanbase but wenger kept playing him in different positions regardless. Then it reached fever pitch and fans frustration boiled over, EBOUE walked off in a chorus of boos, the guy was in tears and inconsolable. He was not good enough but he always gave he can, even if it was still not good enough.
I just don’t feel comfortable singling out individual players by booing them. It might be fine if you think that player is capable of giving more, but we all agree that this is Xhakas ceiling. He has exceeded his limit in terms of ability and what he can offer.
Boo Emery for continuously selecting him.
Arsenal is broken right now. It isn’t down to Xhaka, Ozil, Luis, Sokratis, AMN, Leno, Chambers and whomever else we want to add to the list.
We got stale, sort of good enough if top four was the benchmark (and it shouldn’t be the benchmark, rather the floor) but pretty poor results against our peers in England and the standard Champions League thrashing from Bayeren Munich. Eventually we just tipped over to Europa and it is now the norm. We are now top six, and with Leister’s form we might be top seven/eight. There are no easy games for us at home, and certainly not away. We are mediocre and it is a long time since the mid-2000s.
Emery has not been able to change the course – a nice start but it quickly fizzled out. Some think he needs more time, but I am not in that camp. I have no delusions that we can match City and Liverpool, but we have the personnel to be much steadier and more consistent. We should be very comfortable in the three spot, maybe four with Leister.
I am really starting to think that Emery had his perfect position in Seville – not giants but not awful, a team where great Europa runs were a big deal. He did not do well in PSG – couldn’t handle the egos and the extra challenges with a big club. At Seville, he was in charge, at PSG and Arsenal, he has to deal with bigger-name players and bigger egos, I don’t think he can do it.
The team isn’t playing for him, the negativity in the fan base is right up there with the end of Wenger’s time and we are not playing well. He has no strategy, keeps making the same decisions with the line-up, keeps playing people out of position to poor effect.
Handling of Ozil really highlights Emery’s problems. If you are of the school that you want Ozil gone because he is a bum, the current approach has absolutely guaranteed that nobody will take him so you are stuck on $350K or very close to that amount as Arsenal will have to subsidize virtually the entire wage. If you think he has something to offer, Emery is content to leave him out. It may be the management strategy, and not Emery, but regardless, it is stupid from either side of the fence.
Personally, I would give Ozil a run of three games to see what might happen. Worst case, we play like we are right now and we may go 1-1-1. Best case, he actually helps us play better offensive football.
What worries me is that we are going to reach a point in near future where Laca and Auba decide that they don’t want to play at Arsenal.
Emery may be doing exactly what management wants which is too bad, but owners can’t be fired so it has to move down the line.
Out of all this I just hope.emery watches the tv and sees the comments from rvp about his communication and then weighty last night on motd.
Motd actually highlighted the fact xhaka looked low on confidence and didn’t appear to want the ball, that is down to Emery to recognise this and pull him out for a while. He could have done it saying he had an injury now when he does it it’s obvious why and it appears the only reason is due to fan pressure. Weak management again from Emery.
This whole thing is because we are not playing well neither are we winning matches,the coach doesn’t want to change his approach and who’s next ozil-▷mustafi-▷xhaka-▷socratis who
A great piece but it does not address the issue why Xhaka is booed; and here is my take.
1. Xhaka is booed because he behaves like a fool who makes the same mistakes over and over and never seems to learn for a senior player, worse now a Captain.
2. Xhaka’s mistakes always lead directly to us conceding a goal.
3. Xhaka is a defensive midfielder, yet he cant mark, he makes diving tackles and never seems to make an effort to improve.
4. Despite all these flaws, Emery made Xhaka Captain, putting him further under the spotlight. The Captaincy seem to make his flaws more glaring.
5. Emiry love Xhaka;The fans love Ozil. it shall be winner takes all.
Its either Ozil or Emery; and if you ask me I will choose Ozil anytime. EMERY UNAI OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT!!!!
I’m ashamed to call myself a gonner, I’m frustrated about the football like everyone else, but to carry on the way you so called supporters? this is beyond passion.
Let say you and your wife/daughter/mother out shopping minding your own business and someone starts abusing you. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL.
some fans really need to look at themselves.
Players around the world are seeing how we fans support are club. I know I would think twice about playing here. what I’ve seen some of are fans are no better than what we seen in Bulgaria
Xhaka was always selected to play under Wenger, and he is always selected under Emery. Yet, something like 90-99% of us fans think he is useless. That in itself is somewhat strange.
But no matter, whether we think a player is useless, if he gives 100%, I don’t think we should boo him. It isn’t fair, and I think it is counterproductive, not only in regards to the player himself, but the whole team must have felt bad about it yesterday.
What do we actually hope to achieve by booing our own player like that?
After the yesterday’s match i seriously started to think that can should i continue to watch Arsenal games. i have been a fan almost the whole life of mine. It’s nothing to do with team. I can take it that they are not as competitive as they used to be under the best times of Wenger.
But what i can’t take is the boo boys. They make me angry and sad. It wasn’t the best moment of Xhaka yesterday, but i fully back him. He has taken the abuse very well, but at somewhere there is always a point which makes you decide “that’s enough, i don’t take this anymore”. The fans which don’t understand that should look in to mirror and ask “am i helping Arsenal at all?”. The best answer to that is “go watch Tottenham games and boo there”. Or maybe you should stop booing and start to support your team.
First they got Wenger out. Who’s next? Will this stop ever? Is the toxic atmosphere the reality where we should live now? Maybe i have had enough this too. Winning and loosing is the part of the game. Hate and abuse is not.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but originally the fans just cheered at the announcement that he was going to be subbed. Then he acted like a spoiled brat, throw tantrums, etc, at that point he was booed. He deserved it in my opinion.
Dan he’s 💩 every game
His career is finished
You cannot disrespect then club and it’s fans in that way and think a simple sorry will solve it
Everyone was out of line. But I don’t know what can or should be done about it. Fans did not become bitter and toxic overnight, so the healing process will take years.
Wenger is gone for a while now and it’s totally unfair to blame him for what happened yesterday. So if emery is playing fantastic football and xhaka is fantastic you will say it’s because of wenger? Common leave the man out of this. Fans were angry because of the results (mainly) and took it out on the play. Emery is spreading conflict within the team and the results make it hard for fans to love his players. Fans react to results
Pat, please read again what Johannes said with reference to Wenger; he was not being critical of the man.
For me cursing at a player is not justified under any circumstances I can imagine at the moment. Booing is a different story. If the player doesn’t put in 110% effort he asks for being called on it by the fans. A player should not get booed for a bad performance if the effort was there. The manager should get called on selecting a player who is not performing.
But in this case, I would have booed Xhaka for walking off the pitch instead of running. He should set an example as the captain. Our season was disintegrating yesterday. When you play at home and the score is level you show urgency to get that win. It is a mentality, a frame of mind, a desire to win, a belief that your team should beat a Crystal Palace. You don’t walk off like you are about to collect your cheque and go for a massage.
Some might think that I push it by saying our season was disintegrating yesterday, but I don’t believe so. Last season we lost 4th and CL football by a point. Yesterday we were in the process of dropping 2 points when he strolled of. How are we to believe he cared?
Yeah, his attitude when going out of pitch yesterday was annoying. That was what made the fans to be annoyed. If he had shown urgency the booing would probably not have happened.
Of course fans have a right to voice their discontent. You said Xhaka is not a robot, then what about fans? By your own logic, should they replace fans with recording and play it at maximum volume?
The jeers come from a reason, otherwise players like Auba, Leno, Torreira would get that “abuse” too. The target, be it Mustafi, Xhaka, etc they have been either abysmal, continually make mistakes, or simply not up to standards. Add it to the fact that the coach with his infinite wisdom choose to stick with them. Same personnel, same result.
That is before the incident, afterward is he expecting a better treatment? Respect is a two way street. If I were the coach I won’t let him wear the shirt again and ship him out come January.
Please apply for the job.m 🙂
If you want to shut the fans up then put in a good performance. God knows the stupid salary alone would make any logical person at least make an effort.
😂😂
Say a single player who has been on form in the whole team,overhyping guendozi how many assists does he have??? Goals?? Tht shows how we have fallen down every player has been poor ,tht shows how poor the coaching is ,we cant play five complete passes n even posses the ball for two mins away from our defence pathetic from enmery
Booing doesn’t mean anything special…you guys are just reading more unneccesary meanings to it take a look at this
Coutinho and Rakitic were booed last season by cules,Gareth Bale was booed last season…even the great C Ronaldo was once booed by madrid fans….Suarez was booed last month for a mediocre performance
If all this greats were booed for not living up to expectations in a match or two..so who the F is Xhaka!
I wonder what a Barca fan is doing at an Arsenal fan site, booing and abuse are two different things buddy. Xhaka’s wife got at the end of those despicable fans abuse, it got personal and as a human it got to him.
I fully back xhaka for swearing back I work as an electrician one night got called out for someone wadwithout electricity get to site to people comes from the same supply point go up with the cherry picker to disconnect the cable shouting down for the tool a I’m gonna need to do the repair. only for the neighbour to come out that’s on the same supply of the person that’s without electricty, then he started swearing of which I never tolerate not from anybody I stop him on his tracks swear back at him his neighbour’s electricity and leave his power off for the remainder of the night till the following day. so yes no matter how much they get paid it gives us as fans no right to abuse them in anyway. Madrid is going through a crisis their fans not booeing at them. I say it again I’m at times ashamed of how the fans boo the teamm don’t get me wrong I’m very disappointed when we don’t perform but I’ll never but never boo the team anyone that watched the game would’ve seen the amount of effort the boy’s put into it so much so that gwendouzi rugby tackle zaha not to pass him to go and score in the dying minutes of the game.at the same time please I plea with you Mr couch play ozil please
Well,if you really need to know,being a Barca fan doesn’t stop me from loving Arsenal
We (Arsenal) were desperate to get another goal…one of the bad performance scapegoat was removed..instead of him to run out to save time..he was trotting!!! (to that he deserves the boos)
PS:Instead of throwing the armband to PEA,he should have thrown it to the stands
Gooners are just being too soft!
Dan Smith, I have just this morning submitted to Admin Pat, an article which I hope may be used, that gives a very different interpretation of what is considered bullying from your own view and on how I believe what some call bullying, others call freedom of expression. Obvioulsy I expand greatly on this in the article and hope, if it is used, you may have some personal food for thought. I explain how we need player whose attitude must be”If you cant stand the heat, then stay out of the kitchen” if we wish to ever again win titles. Personally, I see no snowflakes under Guardiola or Klopp. Nuff said!
The whole fans community of football has became toxic, just like the whole social media community.
I am not a lover of XHAKA and no he should not have reacted in the manner that he did,however I will defend him in as much as HE SHOULD NOT EVEN HAVE BEEN ON THE PITCH,this has been brewing now foe weeks and Emery has hung him out to dry,there was already a large number of the fan base that were already on Xhaka’s back including myself and I have never rated him since Wenger got him here, why would you make him captain under those circumstances,yes the players apparently voted him to be but even so Emery knew the score and that the general feeling towards him was getting very toxic, if he thought anything of the guy and he obviously does,why put him under even more pressure to do well than he is already under,You can count Xhakas good games on one hand and Emery still keeps picking him and he has now become public enemy number 1,Xhaka is not a good player but Emery is guilty of prolonging the guys agony.
Kevin Campbell said players want to be selected to play, so they can prove they are worthy and their form can improve. They can’t do this on the bench.
This should blow out of the water this “Emery hung him out to dry” bollocks. Emery shouldn’t have picked him because he has (in some of our opinions) better options to play.
It’s just an opinion mate,no need for the language.