Granit Xhaka is now the centre of attraction at Arsenal these days after his actions when he got subbed off angered the home fans at the Emirates. Notable Sports Journalist Paul Merson has come out in his defence and stated that the Swiss midfield star reacted in that way in the heat of the moment and that he was hurt in by the boos of the fans.

Merson stated :

Xhaka’s behaviour was shocking but at the same time, he is hurt. He is the captain, he is getting booed off the pitch, the fans are going mad and it is the heat of the moment. It is not nice and no one wants to get booed off the pitch, I do not care who you are. You could be the best player in the world and even Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would not like to be booed off the pitch.

Looking back now, in the heat of the moment, you are the captain and usually, the last people to come off are the captains, then the crowd take it out on him. If he could have that one moment back, he probably would not do it, but it is the heat of the moment stuff.

I am one of his biggest critics but he does care. I have seen some people come off pitches and they don’t care, they fly off and run faster off the pitch than they did during the game.

It is a hard one for the club because Unai Emery rates him, he is the one player who plays every week so I would have thought Emery will want this to blow over really. I do not think it will be an Ozil situation where he says ‘that’s it, you are not playing for the club again’.

I would not have him as captain. I would have had David Luiz as captain, which I said all along. Luiz plays every week, he has won everything in the game so you do not win everything in the game by being no good. I do not know about being a leader but he is a winner, he has been in winning teams and I have always said that he should have been the captain.

What Xhaka’s Reaction Was?

The Arsenal captain has been a victim to a series of abuses by the club’s own fans on social media and this has not at all helped matters become better for the players. He stated how the substitution hurt him and how he loves the club. He posted a comment on Arsenal’s Twitter feed.

He talked about some of the abuse and the comments about him and his family and how he was disturbed. He added that he would like to move forward positively. Unai Emery had already confirmed that the club captain would not be in the squad to face Wolves this weekend. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, which was more frustrating for the Gooners all across the globe.