Granit Xhaka has no future at Arsenal after astonishing outburst against Crystal Palace, says Charlie Nicholas

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Joe Krishnan29 October 2019

Granit Xhaka has no future at Arsenal after his "atrocious" outburst against Crystal Palace, says Charlie Nicholas.

Cheers rang around Emirates Stadium as head coach Unai Emery opted to substitute Xhaka after 61 minutes, quickly turning to boos as the midfielder walked slowly off the pitch with the Gunners desperately chasing a winning goal.

Xhaka then goaded fans and appeared to tell them to “f*** off” twice before taking his shirt off and heading straight down the tunnel.

And former Gunners striker Nicholas, now a TV pundit, believes the Swiss could even be forced out of the Emirates Stadium.

"I would imagine it's a horrible feeling being in the position he's in right now, but that anger must be controlled," he told Sky Sports.

Xhaka reacted furiously to boos from the Arsenal crowd  Photo: Action Images via Reuters)
Action Images via Reuters

"To be a footballer of any significance, especially at the higher level, if you don't have a thick skin to take some criticism, then you are not a footballer.

"You cannot live at the top end because you may get a lot of compliments, but you don't think the likes of Messi and Ronaldo ever get criticised? Everybody does at some point.

"He's representing Arsenal as a captain and it is unacceptable to think you're as big as anything at the club. His behaviour was atrocious, and I don't see him having a future at the club."

It is understood Xhaka could be stripped of the captaincy as a result of his astonishing behaviour and Nicholas believes David Luiz must be considered as his replacement.

"The sympathy is not with the reaction, the sympathy is with him being nominated captain by his fellow team-mates," he added.

Unai Emery said the midfielder was "wrong" to react as he did  Photo: Reuters
REUTERS

"The manager let the players take the responsibility and it's all been evident that Arsenal have struggled to find a natural leader within the group. He is obviously popular within the dressing room.

"He's obviously a team player in some category but the actions that we saw on Sunday are just unacceptable.

"Xhaka may be current captain but I don't think he will be captain anymore after what he did at the weekend. The fact that he didn't instantly apologise to the fans about his behaviour tells you that he's probably upset and angry.

"As it stands right now it could be anybody but I'd rather they just said it's going to be David Luiz. We've brought him in, he's won the title and he's got more experience than most.

Nicholas believes David Luiz should be the next captain  Photo: Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal FC via Getty Images

"You just put him in charge of it and then the manager takes responsibility for that, and off you go. It's a start."

Should Xhaka be stripped of the captaincy? Have your say above!

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