Xhaka - worst buy in recent history?: Page 49 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Xhaka - worst buy in recent history?

Mirth

Our ex-pros in the media are the worst. I think Dixon is the only one who stays balanced.

KingslandBarge

Claudius wrote:
You know that Instagram has an actual bookmark function, right?

I do! guess I should try and use it.

Press Conference leading up to Wedenesday's game:
It starts with the Xhaka Captaincy question. Personally think its a measured response.

lorddulaarsenal

Ex pros want to see us be good again. They probably get as annoyed as us seeing his dumb antics week in week out

Xhaka rates Xhaka highly and he’s butt hurt that the majority of fans want him out the team

He shirks responsibility by never acknowledging his mistakes saying the team must learn. He says Arsenal are a stepping stone to bigger things, he’s lazy in tracking back, reckless in the tackle and overall a bloody great hinderance to us getting to the level we want to get to.

Sell him and invest the money wisely

Clrnc

The more I see the incident, the more I think Xhaka is at fault. The jeers from the crowd only came after he sulk and threw the armband, and his failure to get off the pitch as quickly as possible was the secondary cause. Then his reaction obviously antagonized the entire crowd. Very different from Eboue's.

He need to apologise, step down as captain and draw a line to salvage his Arsenal career. The fact that he hasn't probably meant its over.

Looks like he has changed his Arsenal captain profile pic and also removed all Arsenal related bio.

Claudius

Clrnc wrote:
The more I see the incident, the more I think Xhaka is at fault. The jeers from the crowd only came after he sulk and threw the armband, and his failure to get off the pitch as quickly as possible was the secondary cause. Then his reaction obviously antagonized the entire crowd. Very different from Eboue's.

He need to apologise, step down as captain and draw a line to salvage his Arsenal career. The fact that he hasn't probably meant its over.

Your review of the event feels correct. So how should we solve it? I think the situation was caused by a few things

frustration at throwing away a 2 goal lead on the day
continued frustration at our woeful form under Emery
perception that Xhaka represents all that is wrong with Emery football as an imperfect midfielder who also appears immovable as primary captain
Xhaka’s own actions and reactions in the moment

There is little we can do about the first 2. For the second 2, we can appease the fans easily. Just force an apology out of Xhaka. Don’t make it optional. And sit him for a week so it’s clear to fans he’s not a fixture. If we win, great, maybe there is proof the team works better without him. If we lose, maybe there’s less pressure on him going forward.

Jed

HomeSteak wrote:

Not saying much.

Xhaka to the fans:

Claudius

Jed wrote:
Xhaka to the fans:

I’d rather be slapped with the Brendan Rodgers blob fish than listen to that song.

Anzac

Claudius wrote:
Clrnc wrote:
The more I see the incident, the more I think Xhaka is at fault. The jeers from the crowd only came after he sulk and threw the armband, and his failure to get off the pitch as quickly as possible was the secondary cause. Then his reaction obviously antagonized the entire crowd. Very different from Eboue's.

He need to apologise, step down as captain and draw a line to salvage his Arsenal career. The fact that he hasn't probably meant its over.

Your review of the event feels correct. So how should we solve it? I think the situation was caused by a few things

frustration at throwing away a 2 goal lead on the day

continued frustration at our woeful form under Emery

perception that Xhaka represents all that is wrong with Emery football as an imperfect midfielder who also appears immovable as primary captain

Xhaka’s own actions and reactions in the moment

There is little we can do about the first 2. For the second 2, we can appease the fans easily. Just force an apology out of Xhaka. Don’t make it optional. And sit him for a week so it’s clear to fans he’s not a fixture. If we win, great, maybe there is proof the team works better without him. If we lose, maybe there’s less pressure on him going forward.

Prior to this incident I was happy enough to retain Xhaka as both Captain and starting player, provided that he was not used as the deepest CM, as I think it is his role in midfield that is at the root cause of most of his and the team's issues - particularly in transition going forward as well as cover defence.
However as a result of this incident I think both Xhaka and Emery should leave the club sooner rather than later, as I do not think that either are capable of finding their way back to being able to provide meaningful contributions for the remainder of this season under current circumstances.

On a side note re perceptions of Xhaka as being Emery's man, I have read some speculation elsewhere of his recent comments about team performances as having been a sly dig at the way the team has been set up to play, and at Emery as a result. Inference being that perhaps he is not so much Emery's man as thought.

Claudius

I’ve seen the comments but I suspect fans are really frustrated by him and treat him as the embodiment of Merryball. Emery needs to break that perception for both men’s benefit

Shady

Maybe Xhaka will deny swearing at the fans. He will claim he said "I'm going off!", rather than "fuck off."

Anzac

Claudius wrote:
I’ve seen the comments but I suspect fans are really frustrated by him and treat him as the embodiment of merryball™. Emery needs to break that perception for both men’s benefit

At this point I don't think either of them can, and we're now looking at 3 people who should probably look to leave the club asap - Emery, Xhaka & Ozil.
The former 2 in Jan (if not sooner), and Ozil in the summer (subject to who replaces Emery and their style etc & Ozil still being our main creator & impact in the final 3rd).

Claudius

I disagree. If Emery leaves, a new manager can come in, demote Xhaka and make him a squad player. He’s still a good but not great player who can play a role in getting us to 4th within this season. In the summer, yeah let’s get someone like Partey in for him. But there’s no need to be completely destabilizing the squad right now.

lorddulaarsenal

Shady wrote:
Maybe Xhaka will deny swearing at the fans. He will claim he said "I'm going off!", rather than "fuck off."

😆

Social media apology tomorrow morning then during the half time break tomorrow out pops a smiling Xhaka

Anzac

Claudius wrote:
I disagree. If Emery leaves, a new manager can come in, demote Xhaka and make him a squad player. He’s still a good but not great player who can play a role in getting us to 4th within this season. In the summer, yeah let’s get someone like Partey in for him. But there’s no need to be completely destabilizing the squad right now.

I'm not sure the match going fans would give him any margin for error even if he did apologise, which he hasn't as yet and neither has he been stripped of the Captaincy. If neither of those 2 'criteria' remains unaddressed by Jan then he needs to go in order to close the matter so far as his involvement is concerned. And again if those matters remain unresolved then Emery also needs to go.

Ultimately this is bad for the team & season, and also bad for our new structure to retain any credibility after the good work done in the summer.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

Player and manager need to GTFO.

lorddulaarsenal

Definitely.

There’s no upside to retaining either.

Xhaka isn’t going to become a good player overnight and therefore he won’t be welcomed back.

Gazza M

but the players like him tho

lorddulaarsenal

I smell bullshit

awooga83

Xhaka's non existent response sums up why he's unsuited to be captain and really cannot stat t at this club. Whatever his feelings this is a big issue that if you want to be in a leadership role you have to deal with and that required a prompt response acknowledging what happened and trying to move past it. Even if he feels aggrieved he could have made a position where he stands down of his own action to keep it something he has decided. Not dealing with it and actively continuing the issue by doing so is not the actions of someone who understands leadership and he clearly is disconnected from the fan base.

dreamlord

His Insta changes are a clear sign he doesn't want to be here anymore.

Let's bin him and move on. Unlike Ozil, he probably won't be mentioned ever again if he was dropped to the reserves until January.

« Previous Page Next Page »