FANS ARE GUNNING FOR XHAKA
Arsenal skipper in furious exchange with supporters
AN hour had passed and Arsenal had already thrown away their twogoal lead when skipper Granit Xhaka’s number went up and the home crowd roared its approval.
Unai Emery was replacing a midfielder with teenage winger Bukayo Saka to go in search of the winner but Xhaka serves as the lightning rod for all the anger and pent-up frustration in this corner of north London.
Supporters climbed to their feet and yelled at Xhaka to hurry up his dejected trudge towards the tunnel and the jeers grew in force when he refused.
His response was to wave his arms around as if conducting an orchestra and so they booed again, this time with more feeling. The Swiss international ripped off his armband, threw it to the turf, and appeared to tell fans to ‘f*** off’.
It was a remarkable sight and boss Emery will now hold talks over his future as club captain.
Asked if Xhaka would remain skipper, the Spaniard said: ‘It’s not the moment to speak about that because first I want to speak with him and the club. We need to stay calm but, really, he was wrong.
‘We are working to manage playing under pressure, to have our minds clear. In a difficult moment our heart can be hot, but our minds can be clever. We are going to speak about that because the reaction was wrong.
‘We are here because we have supporters. We play for them. We need to have respect for them when they are applauding us, but also when they are criticising.’
Xhaka had not performed especially poorly and even helped set up the opening goal for Sokratis, but that was in the seventh minute and so much had happened since.
It was a Premier League debut to forget for Kieran Tierney, as the ex-Celtic star was replaced by Sead Kolasinac after 75 minutes.
The mood had turned by then and it turned again when Sokratis found the net in the 83rd minute, only to find it ruled out by the video assistant referee after a long delay.
Not for the first time, Palace failed to clear a corner, there was a scramble, a tussle between Calum Chambers and Luka Milivojevic and the ball spilled to Sokratis, who slammed in what he thought was his second of the game.
Arsenal celebrated until it emerged the goal was under scrutiny for a foul by Chambers. Eventually, ref Martin Atkinson was advised to reverse his decision.
Even after watching several replays it was hard to find anything ‘clear and obvious’.
Emery said: ‘Our goal, the third goal, that is not a foul. Who is the person who checked that? If the referee watched that on the TV, I am sure he would not decide that it was a foul.
‘We lost two points to that tonight. We have cameras on the pitch, but I don’t remember a single referee going to check on the touchline.’
This was the second crucial and controversial intervention by VAR Jarred Gillet. Palace’s fightback was triggered by a penalty for a foul by Chambers on Wilfried Zaha which had initially been ruled as a dive by Atkinson, who flashed a yellow card.
Replays showed Chambers did not win the ball. He stuck out a leg, planted his foot and Zaha went over it, albeit in extravagant fashion. Atkinson changed his decision and Milivojevic scored from the spot.
Anxiety seeped back into Arsenal’s football and Bernd Leno was beaten by Jordan Ayew early in the second half. There was also indiscipline from Ayew when he was replaced by Christian Benteke. Palace boss Roy Hodgson said: ‘Players don’t like coming off. But often, after they have settled down, they feel it was the right decision.’
The hosts had gone ahead when Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey misjudged a corner and Gary Cahill failed to clear. Xhaka nodded the ball to Sokratis, who volleyed home.
Two minutes later, Nicolas Pepe’s expert corner from the same side was flicked on by Alexandre Lacazette and David Luiz nudged it over the line.
That ought to have been that, but nothing is straightforward with this Arsenal team.