Former Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas believes that the Gunners' skipper Granit Xhaka will leave the club when the transfer window opens in January.
Xhaka’s future at the Emirates Stadium has been thrown into jeopardy after the Swiss international reached the end of his tether with the club’s fans during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, in which the central midfielder appeared to swear at the home crowd before throwing his shirt to the floor after being on the receiving end of abuse for several weeks.
The midfielder’s actions, of course, have led to a whole host of questions being asked about his future, with Gunners manager Unai Emery, who is also feeling the pressure in North London, opting to leave him out of the squad for today’s clash with Wolves.
Speaking about the situation on Sky Sports’ Gillette Soccer Saturday earlier today, Nicholas, who played for the Gunners between 1983 and 1988, said: “You just can’t behave like that, it’s as simple as that. The fans pay their cash, they come in there and pay big money at Arsenal - they are wanting better.
“They are sick to death of, over the last four seasons or so, seeing average performances that aren’t good enough and because of the lack of leaders that Arsenal actually have, it has backfired on him.
“The players have picked their captain, meaning he has an influence in the dressing room.
“But this length of time that it has taken him to get rid of his anger… if I was the manager I would have put him in the squad for today. I wouldn’t have played him but I would have put him in the group to bring him back in.
“The squad is made up of about 20 people, but you bring him in and get him involved in it. And then if he feels the same and is in a huff and a bad mood, which he probably is, then what’s going to happen and materialise in the next week or two is that it will be he’s fallen out of love with the club.
“The Arsenal owners have got to make a decision because they know the fans are against him and I think he will leave in January.”
In recent years, of course, Arsenal, collectively, have faced deep criticism from supporters and pundits for their failure to seriously compete for silverware, particularly the Premier League title.
Gunners supporters were hopeful that following Arsene Wenger’s decision to step down as manager at the end of the 2017/18 season things were going to change for the better. But things have barely improved under Emery’s stewardship, with Nicholas saying the Spainiard must take some of the blame for the Xhaka situation and other elements concerning the club.
“For years and years Arsenal players got away with this,” added Nicholas. “Arsene Wenger took all the blame and all the responsibility.
“He takes a certain amount of the blame (Emery), of course he does. And do you know where the blame lies with him in this situation, he should have made the captain his choice. It is his responsibility to take leadership.
“He already knows his dressing room and that is where he has got it wrong.”
