Unai Emery left more questions unanswered than answered after his pre-match press conference. Where Granit Xhaka was concerned perhaps that was the right thing.
The question of whether Xhaka can or should remain Arsenal captain was left very deliberately unanswered at a time when fans and pundits were at best demanding clarity, at worst rough justice.
Nor do we know when Xhaka will apologise.
It will certainly come at some stage but does a swift apology need to be issued in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's events, when feelings are at their rawest? Could anything Xhaka might have said over the last 48 hours assuaged the most angry supporters? Is he even in the right position to get across what he wants to say?
The only thing that was clear after Emery's pre-Liverpool press conference, which effectively functioned as the first act of the Xhaka inquest, was that the club captain deeply regrets the moment of madness where he treated supporters in such fiery fashion.
"He is now very down and he is now upset," the Arsenal head coach said. "And we are suggesting then first helping him and being with him.
"And we can suggest, and we can help him but now in his situation how he is feeling? He is feeling down, he is feeling devastated. And first is him. And that is the first step.
"And we can suggest to give his apology, but he is not ready, not in his mind with that situation now because he is down. He is down inside himself at the moment.
"He needs his family, he needs us, the club, and little by little the next step to recover his actuality."
Arsenal's priority now is, as Emery rather eloquently put it, to "recover our best Granit Xhaka". Every expert the club can call upon will be at his disposal, be that sports psychologists, mental health experts or anything else he should require.
Whatever Xhaka's shortcomings on the pitch his approach to being an Arsenal player has been exemplary. He is always first on the training pitch and last off it. His approach to the ambassadorial duties that come with the armband is exceptional.
Not for nothing did he carry the respect of his team-mates, enough to win the vote to be their captain. There is widespread support for him in the Arsenal dressing room and it would not have gone down well among his team-mates if the club's immediate response to Sunday's incident had been to immediately strip Xhaka of the armband.
That may well come and there is still much left to be answered. Emery could not even confirm whether Xhaka wants to remain club captain.
Now is not the time for definitive judgements but for talking, for considering what might come next. This need not be the end for Xhaka.
Emmanuel Eboue can attest to that. On December 6 2008 his substitution in a match against Wigan Athletic where he had initially been introduced off the bench brought ironic cheers that left the Ivorian devastated. Within weeks those cheers were far more warm-hearted as the Emirates saluted his performance in a win over Portsmouth.
Emery also cited the more recent example of Hector Bellerin. It is remarkable to think that perhaps the most popular figure currently at the Emirates was being berated with chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" in an away game against Crystal Palace two-and-a-half years ago.
"I was speaking with Hector Bellerin and he said to me that he received some criticism three years ago at Emirates Stadium in one moment because people weren't happy with his performance and then he came back," Emery said.
"The most important is to keep moving ahead , working, improving and showing and transmitting to people that if one moment they don’t like him, to work to change that situation."
Bridges were burned by Xhaka on Sunday but this had been an issue bubbling under the surface for months if not years. Club sources cite the boos that greeted him when he made way against Aston Villa earlier this season but there has long been public frustration between supporters and the midfielder, dating back at least to chants mocking him before the Europa League semi-final in Madrid in 2018.
Still Emery sees the possibility of unity once more.
"My ideal future is to watch again Xhaka playing and every supporter supporting him," he said. "This is my ideal. I don't know it I can or will achieve it but this is my idea."
Whatever the result against Liverpool Emery will be asked about Xhaka again just as he will before and after Saturday's game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The easy way out would have been to be decisive: Xhaka stays captain or Xhaka goes.
But it would not have been right. Resolving the division between Xhaka and Arsenal needs time for tempers to cool. Emery is giving Arsenal exactly that.
