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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

Granit Xhaka left out of Arsenal squad for Wolves game as his future hangs in balance

Granit Xhaka has been left out of Arsenal's squad to face Wolves this weekend, with Unai Emery claiming the captain is in the wrong frame of mind to play.

The Arsenal skipper clashed with the fans during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last weekend, and is said to be "devastated" by the incident.

Emery left the Swiss out of his Gunners squad for Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth-round defeat by Liverpool at Anfield.

Xhaka, 27, was expected to return for the Gunners this weekend to skipper the side in the Premier League, but he will miss out.

The midfielder sent a message to the Arsenal fans on Thursday night, but is yet to apologise for telling them to "f*** off".

Granit Xhaka has been left out of Arsenal's squad to face Wolves (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Unai Emery addresses the media (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He wrote: "After taking some time to reflect on what happened on Sunday afternoon, I would like to give you an explanation rather than just a quick response.

"The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply. I love this club and always give 100% on and off the pitch.

"My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and in social media over the last weeks and months have me deeply.

Xhaka clashed with the Arsenal fans at the Emirates last weekend (Visionhaus)

"People have said things like "We will break your legs", "Kill your wife" and "Wish that your daughter gets cancer".

"That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.

"In this situation, I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that support our club, our team and myself with positive energy.

Unai Emery says his captain is not in the right frame of mind to play (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

"That has not been my intention and I'm sorry if that's what people thought.

"My wish is that we get back to a place of mutual respect, remembering why we fell in love with this game in the first place. Let's move forward positively together. Granit."

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