xhaka

Emotional reactions from Arsenal fans over Granit Xhaka

Fans divided over the treatment from the fans towards Granit Xhaka.

The Granit Xhaka situation at Arsenal is going to be a talking point for some time, that you can take to the bank. We all know what happened, we saw it in all its embarrassing glory yesterday. But who should take responsibility for the toxic atmosphere at the club?

Before I get onto the fans reaction I will make my own personal stance very clear.

Now, at JustArsenal, writers and contributors are entitled to their own opinions. Mine may we be very different to my colleagues, I do not know just yet, I will wait and see what articles are published, just like the rest of you.

Xhaka was very wrong for his reaction, there is absolutely no getting away from that. However, the fans that handed out the disgraceful abuse to our captain are a hell of a lot worse.

That is my own opinion and I will follow it up with another article later on.

For now, this is about split opinions among the Arsenal fan base.

Reactions

Let’s start off with the infamous anti-Wenger so-called Arsenal fan Mr DT.

Obviously Mr DT is not being honest here. The booing started well before the slow walk. That Mr DT chooses to be deaf, ignorant and lie is down to him. Quite sad that the Ozil supporters are leading the hatred towards Xhaka but I am not at all surprised.

Ripped his shirt off? Seems the Mr DT bullshitting is contagious. Xhaka removed his shirt, did not rip it off.

Seems Xhaka has not lost his team mates then.

Grim is a very appropriate word.

Cautious reaction from Emery.

Shambolic yes but I have still not seen Xhaka throw the shirt to the ground.

Hard to argue with this

A viewpoint worthy of consideration

46 Comments

  1. “Shambolic yes but I have still not seen Xhaka throw the shirt to the ground.”

    Good luck finding when he threw it to the ground.. Isn’t it the same accusations you guys laid on Koscienly?
    Only took his Jersey off to show what he was wearing inside.
    Note that the camera didn’t show from his torso downwards, we only saw the upper parts of his body. Nobody knows if he threw the jersey to the ground or dropped it on something.
    When some of us tried to defend Koscienly, we were questioned as usual.
    Xhaka is probably facing the same accusations now, because I didn’t see him throwing it to the floor either.
    Maybe the angles I saw it from didn’t show him dropping it to the floor but hey fans can always voice out right? Especially towards players who takes off our Jersey.
    Now I’m feeling as if all of this toxic atmosphere has been at the club since last season.
    I still stand on my points, yes Xhaka was a poor player who needed to be benched and protected but wasn’t, so FVCK EMERY!! he caused all of this.
    He pushed Xhaka into the spotlight and nailed his coffin the moment he decided to name Xhaka captain after the fans showed they want Xhaka outta the team. Whatever way you see it you Emery defenders, Emery sentenced Xhaka himself.
    I’ll always be against him and everything he’s done again that lead to Xhaka getting the end of it yesterday I’m saying to you “Mr Good Ebening, man fvck you!!”

    1. Yea yea Eddie, I just wanna ask you, is it that hard to shoot a normal unveiling video? Or is it normal because I’ve never seen anything like that before. He should be mindful of the circumtances before the unveiling. He was clearly trying to get back at his old club, it’s deliberate.
      And I don’t know about you people, but do you think jersey nowadays doesn’t mean a thing? Isn’t jersey supposed to represent something? Arguably same as flag? Do you dare to remove your nation’s flag and throw it around in front of a camera?
      They are extinct right now but ask players who spent their entire career at one club and you’d get a vastly different answer to the question I asked.

      1. Yea I was expecting that flag talk.. In a modern world today where everything sells, every single thing on the planet sells for money if you know how to go about it.
        You really think Koscienly decided that he wants to take off his old Jersey to unveil the new one?
        You really think the player who just joined the club made that decision?
        It was called an unveiling video, nobody made any rules that it has to be him wearing a suit while holding his new jersey smiling to the camera, nobody made it a must it has to be a photoshoot.
        I know that’s what you count as normal.
        We’ve seen clubs unveil players on the pitch by making him walk out of curtain, some coming out behind cardboards, tell me is it normal?
        Manchester United unveiled Sanchez while he playing the piano, a fvckong goddamn piano! Is it normal? Wtf does a piano has to do with football?.

        You see I work in the media industry, and anything you can be creative with will be accepted by people, creativity sells and gets you fans. So in today’s world where football is also equivalent to celebrity status and cash, anything creative is massive accepted by fans.

        So a small club like Bordeaux with a small PR team decided to be creative and unique in their unveiling video, so you blame it on Koscienly instead.
        I’m a fan too, and us fans can be wrong sometimes you guys need stop making mountains out of molehills.
        Now I asked you if the methods u mentioned up there were normal?

        I have one last question, If Pepe was unveiled with him taking off his old Jersey and showing he’s now an Arsenal player, would you guys have gone for his head?
        I’ll be expecting your answers not excuses.
        I see one excuse, I’m done debating this, so I’m waiting

        1. Exactly, in a modern world nothing counts beside money, is that your first argument in a nutshell? Tradition and values are gone, flushed down the toilet and replaced by easy money, I agree. Look, what you value is not my business, but I find it sad that’s all.
          Second argument, piano is normal, curtain is normal, heck invite a circus and make it grandiose, nobody will protest and I will enjoy it too. Then you said Kos can’t do anything about that, sorry but I’ve seen many celebrities who reject certain movies because it clashed with their personal belief. A player can choose whether to participate or not, Bordeaux is a small club with a small PR team you said, I believe Kos is a big player that could have rejected the proposal, but he didn’t.
          Third argument, if Pepe is taking off his old Jersey and showing he’s now an Arsenal player, I won’t be angry at all, Lyon is not my team, but if Lyon fans are enraged I can’t defend him and Arsenal PR team, I will admit that what we do is wrong.
          That is my answer, now you haven’t answered mine. Regarding players who spent their entire career at one club, does the jersey mean nothing to them? Will money tempt them to forget where they came from just for the sake of publication? I believe they won’t and Kos should have followed their example.

          1. I don’t place value on money alone. I come from a lovely family and I’ve grown into knowing that there are so many things important in life more than money, so I can’t sell my soul for money or lose my moral values for money.
            Tradition will always change, heck the world wasn’t like this thousand years ago, hundred years ago the tradition and way of live was selling fellow mam into slavery but now it’s happening anymore, hundred years ago people could always respect each other and see each other but now I can be a million miles away and I can see you if I want to, thousands years ago different traditions has changed and moral decadence changed.
            It’s called evolving.
            It’s not my law, it’s the natural law that governs the earth.

            Now back to your questions, of cus those old players would always value the jersey more than today’s age of players. They never had the luxury these players have, heck they never had FIFA and UEFA turning the sport of football into a money milking factory.
            It was a simple sport, where everyone played and fans enjoyed, their joy and happiness not only depended on their salaries, it also depended on seeing fans chanting their names, fans aflring them and in return they respect and work hard for the fans.

            Years later, when FIFA itself monetized the sport, every single thing about it reeks money, you want to question certain sets of players who chose their path just because it’s displeasing to us as fans?

            Secondly, you said piano is normal? If you and I agree on the sport being damaged by money right now, why the heck should we question a club who chose a certain way to unveil their players? Yes Kos is a big player but does it make him bigger than the club that he’ll tell them what to do or not?
            Is there any footballer bigger than a club? Is Messi bigger than Arsenal?
            Is Messi bigger than Newell’s old boys in Germany? And no it wasn’t just a proposal, you and I both know the reason he left was cause of his body and health. He didn’t leave just to spite us, he left for his health and family, and was there any club that approached or made a bid for him? No, if he had no other option than Bordeaux, should he have turned it down just because their PR stunt will annoy certain Arsenal fans?

          2. Ok, I apologize if I came across as questioning your moral principes, that’s not what I intended and I see we agree on that one so it’s good. Back to the topic.
            First, no I won’t question players who choose to move on and get a brighter future, so to speak, be it for money, health, family, and other reasons. Many players have left us and I accept that. I think the manner is uncalled for, that’s all.
            Second, ok you insist Kos doesn’t have power to reject the publicity stunt. I’m still doubtful about that but to be fair, I can’t be sure of that either and he is under a contract. In the end he has left us and got what he was aiming for. Let’s leave it at that because it’s an article about Xhaka.

      2. Fans and club can have a go at players but players can’t get back to de club why? Who made that rule. Would you act all nice n well when u leave ur ex-employers who treated u like sh*t.

    2. @ Eddie Hoyte
      It is really Emery’s fault, because he picks a player, that the fans don’t want??
      So the coach/manager, whoever it is at any given time, should pick the players the fans want.
      Interesting concept.
      How do you see this unfolding?
      Alone on this site, you will see about 15-20 different formations put forward as “The right one” before each game.

    3. Agree but no need to get so emotional.

      Bottom line; board got a puppet coach to implement their business policy. Get Ozil, Mustafi off the team to force them to leave, humiliating.

      Ceballos is there to bench and forget Ozil.

      Xhaka named captain is to totally get rid of and humiliate Ozil.

      Xhaka is used by board & Emery to humiliate Ozil but now victim of that and humiliated as well..

      Same way, we are used in order to betray and chase out Prof Wenger. Like our own father.

      Then Emery who is used by board will be fired for team’s bad shape and result.

      We have a coach who cant pick right team, and has his favs or ones he uses to pick on another. A chaos!

      Since start of season, it is same mistake to play Pepe who let’s his LB run down our RB, then Niles looks bad but same for Chambers or Bellerin can’t guard 2 players!

      But main issue is of course our central defense area. The world sees it wide opened. Precisely infront of botg CBs, there is no real and strong DM to protect CBs.

      Xhaka is not a DM but plays well one step above, passing ball, helping make transition to or block attacks, good tackle and long range shots. He plays forward and cant be doing well in a Defensive position.

      Having Gendouzi running all over doesn’t help at all.

      Team needs balance and best pick & strategy for each game. Once Emery is fired, it will be same first team but winning with good spirit. Not abused and depressed by coach and club zero ambition.

      Pepe was a 80M flash, a trick, out of nowhere! A damn payement plan, 20M, down payement. The fans’ letter got Kroenke scared to not sell shirt & tickets, empty stadium mean no TV will air, resulting to no rights nor sponsors. Dead Kroenke!

      Look a him now, a snake bitting his own tail; few corners shots and poor in 10 EPL games. Means a total lost for Kroenke; chaotic!

      Everybody can now go Out Emery!

    4. The toxic atmosphere has bn in the fanbase far back since about 2013. Then I just found just arsenal.com, I had to write an article to the fans to be circumspect of reacting to other club fans. BUT, I have come to realise that these toxic fans are brash, loud and unrelenting. It is their character and personality.

  2. 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.

  3. Emery should just take Xhaka out of the firing line for a few weeks and give him and the fans some time to cool off. Going foward we should never boo a player again because we can see the hating really got to Xhaka and hurt him a lot. We need to heal from what we became during the Wenger era and let go of the pain, bitterness and anger. I am convinced all this toxicity is the lingering by-product of Wenger regime. WE NEED TO HEAL.

    1. That’s what I hope from Emery

      If Xhaka doesn’t play, we can see whether the other midfielders is better than Xhaka or not in his position

    2. 👍👍
      My bet is Emery will drop him for just a week or two and he’ll push him back in to resume taking the heat for him.
      You’re right about everybody healing though, all of this pain, anger, disappointment accumulated all through Wenger’s latter years

      1. I doubt Emery will do that. Xhaka Will probably start our next EPL game….. we just need to send Emery packing ASAP

    3. Wenger has been good for a while now and you still blame him for what is happening? Emery is in charge now and he should be responsible for everything the team is going through. Results are not good enough and fans basically respond to results. Are you saying that if the results are good and everything is going on well you will say it’s because of Wenger, common give the man a break and let us face the current problem. The results are the main reasons fan are not happy with players, emery’s treatment of a player is the reason fans keep calling his name during games (2) now. If he gives fans the idea that he likes one player above the other then fans will become divided and make their opinions heard too. Only good results will make come together, love their coach and the players

      1. Totally agree. The Xhaka incident is not unique, people here must realise that even fans watching the game get carried away, ask the beer bottles that lay broken after the final whistle. After relaxing I realised the fans representing us at the Emirates were wrong but I wont blame them coz I know it will happen again because of the heat of the moment. Emery must go to reduce the toxic environment he has created for a while. He is making us do bad stuff to our own players who were here before him,that hurts me deeply, sorry to Xhaka.

  4. Emery is toxic, a coach that creates an atmosphere of contention, confusion, favouritism, and outcasting player!!!!! This atmosphere will only continue to spread. Fans can not be totally controlled, we have different levels of actions and reactions. I personally don’t abuse any of our players. I believe Emery is not leading by example and the football is not interesting enough to keep the minds of fans on other things.

    1. Good points Pat
      This whole Xhaka situation is masking over the real problem ,we should not all be talking about captain calamity,we all know he’s useless.
      We should be talking how again we have gone 2 goals up and coming away with a point at home .
      Xhaka s taking the heat off Emery this week ,1 point form 6against teams we should be hammering ,and yet again i still see fans on here Making excuses for him .
      He needs to be sacked ,he’s making this club look pathetic.

  5. Truth is, I don’t think any player would want to join arsenal with the current atmosphere. Torreira’s reaction is an obvious point. To be a professional is to trust your manager and support your teammates. I should actually commend the players for still being one in these hard times. Their oneness is actually the only thing that can recover us. Anyways, I’d like to believe we’ve hit rock bottom at this point, so the trend should reverse soon enough.

  6. Leaving emotional arguments aside: You would expect the club to educate players on fan interaction be it during games or on social media. No matter how unreasonable the fans might or might not be, it is never an intelligent reaction to confront and retaliate. That’s a battle the fans will always win. Firstly by their sheer number and secondly they are, at some level, on match day, the ultimate “client”. No fans, no game.

    The club can ask misbehaving fans to leave but players can not so players can only lose going against the fans.

  7. So the fans are a disgrace then?

    Sticking by the club over the last 14 years of regression. Watching us consistently getting humiliated. Traveling all over the World for the club. Fans in other countries getting up at ridiculous times to watch the Arsenal, even on work nights. Pumping our hard earned money into the club.

    Xhaka is NOTHING without the fans, because Arsenal is NOTHING without the fans!

    But forget all that dedication, emotionally, and financially. The fanbase are an absolute disgrace for affording themselves the odd boo here and there.

    What a ridiculous thing to say! When things go horrible wrong, year after year, what do you expect? The fans gave Wenger an unbelievable amount of patience, but it seems they won’t be fooled again.

    1. so fans are allowed to have emotions, but players are not? If you want to boo the players dont get upset if they react?

    2. True and it rarely gets to this point at other clubs because they take swift action, even small coz they are scared of relegation. The board should take action and fire Emery by Midnight today.

      1. they should have done it already!!!!

        Can anyone see us getting anything out of the next 3 games ? Maybe a point from Wolves?
        We will be mid table in 3 weeks

  8. Everybody should admit they hate him for being captain…
    emery should give ozil chance in our next match and see if he can make the difference

  9. Let me drop this here
    2017 Palace away Bellerin: takes throw in
    Arsenal fans:BOOOO. “You’re not fit to wear the shirt!”
    2019 Palace away
    Xhaka: is substituted
    Arsenal fans: BOOOO. “Fuck off!”
    Bellerin: We only win when we are together.
    Arsenal fans:Hector ❤️ my true captain.
    😂 ridiculous people

  10. 1st,you just can’t stop the fans who paid their hard earned money to watch Emery act some silly flim in the name of playing football, when you thirst something nice and become use to it and suddenly you where been feeding rubbish, you have all the right to moan abt it, listen the fans are always right,Emery is not a coach,he is always trying to adopt to teams,how can you adopt to the less teams, you force yourself on them, they should be the one adapting to you,Emery is just a big fool, he should just get away from football and focus on a beer business,because I only see him as a drunkered and I have so many reason for that, he is crazy!!.

  11. The fans were totally out of order for the treatment of xhaka but he also reacted poorly,so what every punishment he gets is deserved.
    All this toxicity will only hamper the clubs transfer business, no player in his right mind will want to join arsenal unless he’s going to be paid very handsomely.
    The fans need to understand that we aren’t as big as we think we are and the demands that are being made are just ridiculous.
    We havent won a league title in 15 years and we place too emphasis on wages and transfer fees.
    Big clubs constantly spend and pay high wages , even as though liverpool havent won a league in God knows how long, theirs fans dont go around cursing the owner and players.
    Ws claim to want to move forward but we hired a coach whose record is ridiculous , is it any suprise that the players are performing poorly under him .
    For God sake emery had neymer and mpabbe in his team and still couldn’t manage them properly talkless of coach them .
    We need some reality check at arsenal football club

    1. Agree Brainbox
      Giroud was abused few years ago by France national fans and he responded on the PITCH making them eat their words

  12. The fans do not need to understand anything. We go to see and support a club that is
    supposedly in the top tier of European football. The club the manager and now even the captain or
    players have no respect for us after the dismal performances and total mismanagement of the team?
    I don’t think is right. The coach is a major issue and the division is evident and I had this argument with a couple supporters of Emery already. Now if the club hierarchy is supporting this
    then we should all stay home next game because they are ripping us off.
    with games against Liverpool/Wolves and Leicester away where do you think our ambition of top 4 ranks?
    That is a pipe dream with the manager we have and truthfully we have a decent player pool that could perform under someone with a plan and knowledge. This guy got lucky to win a couple titles with Sevilla in a second tier competition. His luck has run out because neither PSG or Arsenal are suitable for him.
    Stop and take a look at Chelsea. Youth and experience are blended well together with unity among the players and a clear identity as to how they play. Their results speak for themselves.
    Stop pointing the finger at the fans because they are the last people responsible for the mess we are in.

  13. I am quite amazed at the moderate response of some correspondents here to Xhaka’s actions. I have been an Arsenal fan for 64 years and I can not believe that Xhaka will ever be allowed to play for our club again. Whatever the provocation his actions are indefensible. The very fact that he is the captain means he is expected to show a particularly high level of professionalism and not to react like some latter day McEnroe. In addition the very fact he reacts like this shows he has no leadership or conciliatory skills – of which we are sadly lacking. Does our club have no pride in standards of behaviour anymore? I understand the condemnation of the actions of some of the fans but to try and excuse or equate Xhaka’ s behaviour with that is wrong and is a slippery slope. Many correspondents here will say that the behaviour of fans is becoming more and more extreme. Yes, but so is the amount of money that modern day footballers are paid – partly to behave professionally. If Xhaka continues to play for us we will be derided. What would Ferguson have done? I think we all know.

  14. ”Eboue was booed, Ramsey and his family were abused, Wenger was abused, Mustafi and Xhaka booed and abused on social media. Unai the latest target.
    This is coming from the same fanbase who talk about our class, tradition & history with pride.
    What a toxic fanbase we’ve become”

    I don’t know who Ptm is but on point with some of the comments I raised yesterday.

    But I appreciate everyone has different opinions. Somewhere in there is some truth.

    One thing is for sure, the whole situation has got to boiling point and this is the breaking point. I just checked Xhaka Instagram account. No post (as expected) since the incident but a whole load of insult…and this is even before the game yesterday.

    Torreira reaction is bang on. He must be thinking what sort of fanbase is this? I fear to play in front of this…

  15. I just want to get a few things off my chest..

    Firstly, I think it’s fair to say that every Arsenal fan is feeling pi**ed off right now. Me included. I also admit that I have been “anti Xhaka” since the middle of last season and, I the whole “captain” thing really got my goat! However, the booing last night was both disgraceful and disrespectful. To all the players and the club. Shameful!

    Emery should be the “man” to step up and make the decision to appoint a new captain. Emery should apologise to Xhaka for continuing to play him in a team that is surely not performing with him in it. Xhaka should then apologise to the fans for his reaction and we all move on..

    Secondly, Xhaka is NOT the problem alone. Emery takes the hit again here because he is failing to move this squad on from a transitioning period. In fact, the brand and identity is dying with every game.

    The board need to step in now and rip up Emery’s contract. A new captain should be appointed (by the new manager!) and the team selection needs to be addressed, based on who is the best candidate and not who who fits into Emery’s pocket the best!

    The club are prolonging the inevitable. The supporters in the stadium need to stick together and support the team who ever is playing. Take the frustration outside the stadium. The toxic atmosphere will only get worse and so will the team!!

  16. All I can say is, Arsenal will continue to experience such incidences because we as a club refuse to take decisive decisions and hold ourselves responsible.

    We love papering over the cracks and ignore the real problems, thanks to either spectacular individual performances from players or incidences like VAR or another player being scapegoated.

    We’ve had a serious managerial problem, and it continues with Emery, we hide behind “the Arsenal way” of playing football with all this tiki-taka style we’ve never really had any notable success with.

    The issue is the fans and the hierarchy need to be ruthless…
    Emery is not good enough… sack him.
    We’ve been blaming players for years now, they keep changing and we keep scapegoating.
    We’ve even spent a lot, but still we ignore the real problem and blame players.

    EMERY MUST GO… OUR MANAGEMENT/COACHING HAS BEEN ARSENAL’S PROBLEM, THAT’S IT.

    1. I tell you what makes me laugh about this xhaka situation is even tho I disagree with the way he was treated yesterday he didnt do himself any favours.. I cant remember a game since he signed for us where he was MOTM or above a 7 in ratings!! The guy hasn’t improved after 3 seasons at the club.. although he got some boos yesterday and the week before wen subbed I feel that it’s more of a collective frustration from the fans to react the way they did than his performance yesterday as he wasnt that bad.. but I sense massive arrogance in xhaka that he believes he is better than he is.. with emery giving him the captains armband made him think he is untouchable so lackluster performances would be acceptable.. NOT ANY MORE!!

      And what annoys me even more is the way arsenal fans where signing ozil throughout last night’s game.. this is the same ozil that 6months ago everyone was screaming to sell him!! Now he is suppose to be our saviour? Come on people have such short memories.. the reason we are not creating is because the way the coach sets us up, the 1st 11 and his non existent tactics.. NOT whether we have ozil in the team or not!! Remember with ozil in the team u may get the odd pass here and there BUT u get zero workrate and passion!! Alot of ppl said that having ozil in the team is like playing with 10 men.. we than have people screaming out for bellerin and holding to be in 1st choice defence? Well 12-18months ago people where saying bellerin cant defend,is lightweight and only good going forward.. with holding apart from maybe 8-10 games at the beginning of last season he played ok before that he was crap and from wot I have seen since he been back from injury he ain’t been great!! Got spun twice in the box by a striker against Victoria, couldn’t win headers and was slow passing the ball out from the back.. so how exactly are these players gonna improve our team when at the end of the day they are not good enough!!

      1. You’re 100% right. The crux of the issue is management.

        We love saying “we’re not like Chelsea”, or “We are not rash and don’t just fire coaches”, but what we really saying is “We’re too mentally weak to make decisive decisions from seeing the real truth and sticking by those decisions”

        Chelsea might fire manager left, right & center, but they have trophies in their cabinet that we dream of.

        Arsenal’s soft under belly isn’t only on the field, its in the stands and the boardroom. Emery has been terrible, he needs the boot. Or we can sit here and do the same thing we do every season and over analyse and criticize our players while other teams who’ve had a change of coach improve their teams with the same players everyone slated (Leicester *couch*, Chelsea *coach*)

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