Emiliano Martinez says Arsenal wanted to win last night's Carabao Cup tie for Granit Xhaka after the squad rallied around their captain.
Xhaka did not travel with the first-team to Liverpool with Arsenal still mulling what comes next for their captain after he swore at and goaded supporters whilst being substituted during Sunday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
The 26-year-old is deeply dismayed by his actions, which could yet cost him the club captaincy he was awarded just a month ago though for the time being Arsenal are focused on offering mental support, including counselling, for their captain.
Xhaka won a dressing room vote to be named club captain and there are many in the squad who want him to remain in place despite pressure on head coach Unai Emery to strip him of the armband.
"He's a great leader for us and we support him all the way," Martinez said. "We couldn't think about that tonight because of the game at Anfield.
"We wanted to win this game for him and for Arsenal.
"All of us [have spoken to him]. He's a lovely guy. He's a bit devastated because he's got a good family and a good heart.
"He loves the club. When someone goes through that we have to support him. We are together on this question.
"It was a shock [on Sunday]. We know how much he cares about the club. Everyone got emotional. Probably at the time he wasn't thinking too much about that. We were 2-2 and the fans wanted to win the game, it was a bit nervous in the stadium. If he does it [gets substituted] again he won't think about that, he'll come off quick. We support him all the way and we'll get through this.
"The manager decides if he's captain or not but for us as a group we support him all the way."
Ultimately Arsenal were unable to win for Xhaka, throwing away 3-1 and 4-2 leads in a remarkable game at Anfield that ended 5-5 when Divock Origi struck a last-minute volley in front of an ecstatic Kop. The scoring did not stop there as nine of the 10 penalties in the shootout were converted, Dani Ceballos' miss ultimately sending the Gunners out of the Carabao Cup.
Though exiting the competition is not necessarily a major black mark against Emery the nature of the result will do nothing to ease pressure on the Arsenal boss nor to bring an increasingly frustrated fanbase back on side.
The gulf between supporters and players was undoubtedly apparent when Xhaka took his frustrations out on the Emirates Stadium but Martinez saws signs of the divide being bridged in a raucous travelling contingent at Arsenal.
"Today they showed us they love us and support us," Martinez said. "I was devastated not going through for the fans who came to the game.
"We're sorry to let them down but on Saturday we're going to make things right."
