<]:^D wrote:Dowbocop wrote:<]:^D wrote:Xhaka stripped of captaincy apparently
what a joke of a club Arsenal are
What else would you have done? I never would have made him captain in the first place. He talks a great game about a strong mentality and leadership but on the pitch he seems completely devoid of those qualities.
i would have taken him out of the team for a while, let things blow over and try and bring him back in.
taking the captaincy off him undermines him, undermines the team selecting him, and panders to the morons who booed and hissed at him
He already is out of the team: he hasn't played in the league since and I wasn't really expecting him to be involved this weekend (depends now on how bad Ceballos' hammy is, he might actually be needed). After that there's an international break so if he does miss Leicester it'll have been nearly a month since the incident before he plays for us again. Both parties probably need a bit of time out, because the midfield being built around Xhaka as captain isn't working. But you can't really have a situation where the captain is completely fit but sat on the bench because of his conduct.
I think you are playing down how unprofessional he was. If he'd done that to opposition fans he'd have an FA charge to answer (if I recall didn't Wilshere once get one after giving the Vs?). The initial reaction to his number going up was perhaps a bit unfair, because the frustration should really be more towards Emery. But then he started dawdling off when we were chasing a win and then started mouthing off when he got some abuse for not behaving in the team's best interests. That is not behaviour befitting a captain - your game is done, punch a wall in the dressing room if you like, but suck it up, get off the pitch and take one for the team. If he'd stayed on as captain after that the club would be called a joke as well, so it's a Catch-22 really.
How did you feel about Kepa's antics in the League Cup final?