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Arsenal: Unai Emery says Granit Xhaka is ‘devastated’

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Image for Arsenal: Unai Emery says Granit Xhaka is ‘devastated’

Unai Emery faced the press on Tuesday afternoon and as expected the majority of the questions he faced were in relation to his captain Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international returned to training with the rest of the squad this morning but will not feature in the Carabao Cup tie up at Anfield on Wednesday night.

The Head Coach told those in attendance that Xhaka is “devastated” via Football.London.

Despite the clubs attempts, they’ve been unable to persuade the 27-year-old midfielder to issue an official apology to date. Emery went on to say “he is now devastated, sad.

“We spoke yesterday and Sunday night and this morning.

“He trained normally with the group but he is devastated. He is sad about that situation.

“His commitment is great every time. He wants to help. His behaviour was perfect in training, with the group and club. Really, he knows he was wrong.

“When we make individually some mistakes we need to make some apologies. We’ve suggested he do that.

“First is to recover him … we want him to be close with our supporters.

“He feels inside, very deep. It’s normal as a human. Every player needs the supporters’ support.”

Xhaka key to Emery’s approach

It remains to be seen how long Xhaka will be given to gather his thoughts and recover mentally from this damaging incident. He has featured in nine of the Gunners’ 10 Premier League games so far this season and to date, has been a main-stay in an ever-changing midfield.

He will have to face the music at some point and the sooner he faces the Emirates crowd again, the sooner everybody can try and move on from the weekend’s events. Emery has been criticised and questioned about his man-management in the past but the current situation provides him with the perfect opportunity to prove his critics wrong.

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