A trio of senior Arsenal players visited Granit Xhaka at his home after Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace.
The Switzerland international told supporters to ‘f**k off’ after he was jeered as he left the field during a 2-2 draw against the Eagles at the Emirates.
The midfielder was named as club captain last month ahead of the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Hector Bellerin.
Xhaka has taken large amounts of criticism from supporters in the past but until now he had kept a lid on a response.
Xhaka being subbed off pic.twitter.com/VIQsnhFBoC
— Matt (@MGH) October 27, 2019
The former Borussia Monchengladbach star is a popular figure with his team-mates and Unai Emery was pleased with the squad when they elected him as skipper.
Lucas Torreira was clearly emotional at the incident and was pictured in tears as Xhaka left the field, due to the abuse he was subjected to.
Bellerin broke ranks today to send a message to supporters and players alike to maintain unity at this difficult time and the Athletic report that three senior members of Emery’s squad visited Xhaka after the draw to speak to him.
They were concerned about the Swiss’ wellbeing and considered his actions to be out of character.
Xhaka’s partner has recently given birth and the players feel they can take some of the strain away from being captain.
Emery suggested after the game that he could strip Xhaka of the captaincy and it remains to be seen whether he will feature against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday at Anfield.
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