Xhaka not in squad to face Liverpool in Carabao Cup, live on Sky Sports; Kick-off 7.30pm; Emery won't comment on whether he will strip Xhaka of captaincy
Tuesday 29 October 2019 20:33, UK
Unai Emery says that Granit Xhaka is "sad" and "devastated" after he was booed off the pitch by Arsenal fans in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
The Switzerland international's substitution was met with cheers before he cupped his ears to the fans before removing his shirt and heading straight down the tunnel.
Emery said that, after speaking to the player over the last couple of days, Xhaka is overwhelmed by the incident.
"He is devastated, he is sad about the situation," Emery said.
"Really, he knows he was wrong. He feels inside, very deep. But he normal like a human, every player needs the supporters' support.
"I spoke a lot with him that he needs to learn that when we are having good matches, they applaud us and we are happy.
"But when we are in a difficult moment and receiving criticism, we need to be strong and to know and to learn to play under that pressure.
"It's our work. The supporters are the most important thing in our life because they are a supporter, they are a fan, they are the people behind us. It's a reason to play professional football, we can't play with our friends.
"After that wrong situation on Sunday, it's a challenge for me and every player. When the supporters aren't happy with us because maybe we need to play better and improve things to be strong, we needed them then. But first it's for us."
Emery confirmed that Xhaka would not be part of the squad that travels to Anfield for their Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, but confirmed that it was not necessarily down to Sunday's events.
The Arsenal boss said he thinks that there should be an apology from Xhaka, but acknowledged now is perhaps not the right time.
"I think we make individual mistakes and we need to make apologies for one circumstance. We suggest him to do that (apologise)," Emery said.
"We are looking and we are seeing that he is devastated and very down. First is to look after him. We need our family, our friends, our supporters to support us, like us, love us. He is not feeling that with the supporters at the moment."
Asked after Sunday's game if Xhaka would remain Arsenal captain, Emery said that it was "not the time to talk about that" and the Spaniard is still coy on whether the 27-year-old is the right man for the armband.
He said: "At the moment, I don't want to think about that.
"I explained why I decided [Xhaka should be captain]. He has the values, the respect in the dressing room, the experience.
"He is captain of his national team. He has the condition to be the captain and I decided that because the players respect that. He was wrong on Sunday and it wasn't the response of a captain.
"First, we need to recover him as a human and as a player. Then we will look how we can improve and how we can continue in that way with him, the team, with everybody."
Watch Soccer Special from 7.30pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Main Event on Tuesday. There will also be live blog coverage on Sky Sports' digital platforms from 6.30pm with free highlights of each game available after full-time.
On Wednesday, there will be two Carabao Cup games live on Sky Sports. Liverpool host Arsenal - live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm; Kick-off 7.30pm - while Man Utd visit Chelsea - live on Sky Sports Main Event, also from 7pm; Kick-off 8.05pm.
Soccer Special will also be live from 7.30pm on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League, with live blog coverage across Sky Sports' digital platforms from 6.30pm. There will also be free highlights of each game available after full-time.
