Emery quiet on whether Xhaka will remain captain as he confirms Ozil talks

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has refused to say whether Granit Xhaka will remain as club captain after his outburst on Sunday, while the Spaniard also confirmed he had held talks with Mesut Ozil. 

Swiss midfielder Xhaka reacted angrily towards supporters as he was substituted during their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday.

When asked if a decision had been made on the captaincy, Emery said: “At the moment I am not speaking and I don’t want to think about that.”

“It is not easy for him and for the team. He is now devastated, sad, we spoke yesterday and Sunday night also and this morning. He trained normally with the group but he is devastated and sad about the situation.”

Xhaka is not in Arsenal‘s squad for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool at Anfield, but Emery suggests that was not going to be the case as he shuffles his pack for cup competitions.

 

 

And the Gunners manager believes that Xhaka needs to apologise, saying: “Yes [he should apologise], we make mistakes, we need to apologise and we suggested for him to do that.

“Now we are looking, seeing he is devastated and the first thing is to recover him. We need our family, friends and supporters to support us, love us.”

Elsewhere in his press conference, Emery told reporters that he held talks with Ozil on Tuesday morning about a potential role in the side to face Jurgen Klopp’s men.

The former Germany international has only played 142 minutes of football this season, with Emery previously saying the decision to freeze him out of the squad was part of an agreed “strategy” within the club.

“That conversation this morning was because I wanted to listen about how he was thinking now to help us tomorrow,” he added. “It was a very good conversation. Tomorrow he is in the group.

“We need his quality, his skill. We need his consistency. We need his positive mentality. Then we need him to help us on the pitch. I want now like in the pre-season, like a month ago, for him to help us on the pitch.”

Arsenal travel to Liverpool on Wednesday having lost there 3-1 in the Premier League in August.

Read more: Pundit names strong sanction that should be issued to Xhaka after gesture