Arsene Wenger has suggested Unai Emery was right to strip Granit Xhaka of the Arsenal captaincy, stressing the importance of protecting the club’s values.
Xhaka was stripped of the captain’s armband this week following the midfielder’s clash with Arsenal supporters during a home game against Crystal Palace 12 days ago.
After being substituted with half an hour of the game remaining, the Switzerland international was jeered as he left the pitch, prompting him to shout ‘f*** off’ before removing his shirt and heading straight down the tunnel.
Wenger brought Xhaka to the club back in 2016 and believes swift action was a necessary move in order for the club to set the right example.
The former Arsenal boss told beIN Sports: “As a manager you have to face these kind of decisions. You always face the unexpected as a manager and we have to make quick decisions.
“Arsenal is respected all over the world because it’s built on values and everybody has to respect these values and the manager has to get them to be respected because Arsenal for me always had a touch of class.
“For me, football has a huge responsibility on the way we behave, the way we are examples. Arsenal is part of the big clubs in the world and has to show that.”
He continued: “You have people with passion, with the pressure they are under, with the disappointment they carry out, they have sometimes reactions you don’t want.
“But you have you remind people of the behaviour you want. I think Xhaka is an intelligent player, contrary to what I heard in recent weeks, he finally he apologised and that’s what he (Emery) wanted from him.”
