Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka was booed off the pitch by club fans following his substitution in Arsenal 2-2 draw at home against Crystal Palace. Xhaka, who was voted the club captain by his teammates last month, responded with jeers, taunts and abuses aimed at the home crowd before walking straight down the tunnel having seen his side squander a two-goal lead against a spirited Palace. Arsenal coach Unai Emery later tried to calm nerves down by apologising on behalf of his captain but refused to sack him.

The Swiss international was substituted in the 61st minute shortly after Palace came from two goals behind to level the scores. But, with the game still poised and Arsenal chasing a likely victory, Xhaka wrongly chose to tread off the pitch rather than running off to help play from being stopped for a lengthy period of time. Disappointed at their captain’s ignorance, Gunners’ fans sent him off with chants of boos. In his reply, the player could be seen cupping his ears to the crowd to jeer them and also appeared to mouth-off abuses. Manchester United First Club to Score 2000 Premier League Goals.

Granit Xhaka vs the Fans

Xhaka has not enjoyed a great relationship with the Gunners’ fans ever since he was appointed the club captain and has often been criticised for his poor play. But what transpired in the 61st minute of the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace match saw the already strained relationship hit a new low. “He was wrong, he was wrong,” said Unai Emery later at the post-match conference. “His reaction was wrong. We are here because we have supporters. In football, we are the workers inside [the pitch] but we play for them. We need to have respect for them when they are applauding us and also when they are criticising us.”

Piers Morgan is Disappointed With Captain Granit Xhaka

Emery was also asked about Xhaka continuity as the Arsenal captain and although the Spanish coach admitted that his player was completely wrong in turning on against the supporters, he refused to sack Xhaka as the captain. “I think now [we] stay calm and also speak with him, speak inside around that,” said Emery. Arsenal legend Ian Wright, however, wasn’t that forgiving and lambasted Xhaka for his reaction. “Players getting booed is not the best, but this is the captain.

“They are frustrated that he hasn’t run off the pitch. I’ve seen him before bolt off when he’s substituted. He’s walked off and then he goads them,” Wright told BBC’s Match Day 2. “We’re talking about fans who have watched him play a handful of good games in three years. And he’s treating them like that. He should apologise. That’s the guy Arsenal have chosen as captain… that’s not captain behaviour. Arsenal fans have been patient with him. He owes them a lot more than that.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal failed to hold to a two-goal advantage against Crystal Palace at home. Sokratis Papaslathopoulos put the Gunners ahead from a corner in the ninth minute before his defensive partner David Luiz doubled the lead exactly two minutes later.

But Crystal Palace bounced back after the first half-an-hour with Luka Milivojevic scoring from the spot to pull one back after VAR had overturned a play-acting decision against Wilfried Zaha and awarded a penalty to the visitors. Jordan Ayew then levelled the scores seven minutes into the second half while Arsenal had a goal cancelled by VAR before eventually settling for a draw.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2019 12:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).