Unai Emery has confirmed that Granit Xhaka has been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy after the incident against Crystal Palace.
The midfielder was substituted in the second half of the 2-2 draw and was greeted with some boos and jeers while he trudged off the playing field. He responded by swearing and gesturing towards fans, before cupping his ears.
Xhaka took off his shirt before disappearing down the tunnel. His actions have been widely criticised by pundits and fans, with manager Emery admitting that the player should apologise to fans.
The player remained silent in the days after the incident, but did provide an explanation for his actions, and issued an apology to fans.
But ahead of the Vitoria clash, Emery said Xhaka would no longer be part of the club's captaincy group and refused to answer more questions about the situation.
"It’s closed, that issue," he said.
Also speaking at the press conference alongside Emery, Hector Bellerin said he supports his head coach's decision.
"As I commented after the night of the game sometimes it’s hard to deal with feelings," he said.
"He made a mistake. As a dressing room we have to be together. We back him. He has played his part.
"We respect the decision of the coach and the club. For us it’s to give him our love and care."
Bellerin also reflected on how he felt the first time he was criticised by fans.
"That was the situation with me. As you can imagine it was really hard for me, it was the first time something like that happened to me," he said.
“I said to Granit ‘this is like in every walk of life. One day you’re at the top and another you’re at a low.
“When these things happen to you personally you have a whole squad that can back you... That’s what happened to me then, I had a whole group of players backing me.”
He added: "It’s been a tough couple of weeks... but you have a chance to redeem yourself every two or three days.
"We keep working, we keep trying hard to do our best. It’s important we keep our head straight."
