Former Switzerland international Benjamin Huggel believes Granit Xhaka needs to apologise to the Arsenal fans if he wants to play again for the Gunners.
Arsenal dropped more points at home on Sunday when they threw away a two-goal advantage to only manage a draw against Crystal Palace.
But the talking point coming out of the game had little to do with their performance, but the further downgrading of the relationship between club captain Xhaka and the fan base.
The midfielder was hooked off at the hour mark as Arsenal chased the game, but the moment his number came on the fourth official’s board, the home fans cheered ironically.
The Swiss reacted furiously – he threw away his captain’s armband and goaded the Emirates faithful as the ironic cheers turned into a large chorus of boos as the midfielder walked straight into the tunnel.
Huggel admits that as a player it is terrible to hear your own fans getting on your back during a game but stressed that Xhaka’s reaction was wrong too and he should not have shown aggression towards the fans.
He feels his compatriot will need to apologise if he wants to play again and prove his detractors wrong on the pitch.
The former midfielder told Swiss daily Blick: “Being whistled by your own fans is totally bad. Something breaks and something dies within you.
“As a human, the worst thing that you cannot do is show it yourself. Granit’s reaction was not good.
“Just shaking of the head would have done and sadness instead of aggression.
“I would advise him to apologise and if he does that, then he can play again.
“But he has to convince on the pitch afterwards.”
Unai Emery’s decision to name Xhaka the club captain this season was met by widespread scorn amongst some Arsenal fans, who do not rate the midfielder.
