Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas has admitted he would be surprised if disgraced club captain Granit Xhaka ever plays for the club again after his meltdown in the Crystal Palace game.
The Switzerland international appeared to tell fans to ‘f**k off’ and goaded them by cupping his hand to his ear as they jeered him when it was announced he was being substituted by manager Unai Emery.
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Xhaka was only recently named Arsenal captain in something of a surprise move by Emery, and this incident does suggest it was perhaps the wrong move.
It is hard to imagine Gunners fans will forgive the 27-year-old for this, especially as he’d already been a pretty unpopular figure among the Emirates Stadium support.
Nicholas believes Xhaka needed to show thicker skin than he did in this situation, and now seems to doubt he has a future with the club after this major blow-up over the weekend.
“Xhaka is the current captain, but I don’t think he will be captain anymore after what he did at the weekend,” Nicholas told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Metro.
“The fact he didn’t instantly apologise tells you he’s upset, angry and I’m sure it’s a horrible feeling for him.
“But that anger must be controlled. If you don’t have a thick skin you can’t be a footballer.
“The fans will always be an element of the football club and they’re bigger and better than anything else involved.
“He has to take his medicine but I’ll be surprised if he comes back in any capacity to play for Arsenal again.”