Arsene Wenger reveals his view on Granit Xhaka fallout and how manager must uphold ‘classy’ Arsenal values
Wenger signed Xhaka for Arsenal in 2016
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Your support makes all the difference.Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has spoken about the difficult situation managers face when players step outside the expected lines of conduct, explaining how club values must dictate where responsibility lies.
The Emirates club have been mired in controversy of late, after captain Granit Xhaka responded angrily to supporters who jeered him leaving the pitch slowly against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Since then, Xhaka has been stripped of the club captaincy and left out of successive match squads against Liverpool, Wolves and Vitoria Guimaraes.
Speaking on BeIN Sport on Wednesday, Wenger was reluctant to comment too much on the situation to avoid his words being taken out of context – but explained how Arsenal, as a club of enormous standing in the football world, commanded a particular respect and how it was the responsibility of the manager, in this case Unai Emery, to ensure its values were enforced.
“For me it’s very difficult to have any assessment on Arsenal because it will be straight away interpreted when you’ve been at the club for such a long time,” he said.
“I think Arsenal Football Club is respected all over the world because it’s built on values and everyone has to respect these values and the manager has to get them to be respected.
“Arsenal, for me, had always had a touch of class; for me football today in the modern era has a huge responsibility on the way we behave, the way we are examples, Arsenal are part of the big clubs in the world and we have to show that.”
On Xhaka specifically, Wenger appeared to understand how the initial reaction could occur, but said it was right the midfielder later acknowledged his behaviour.
“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 to remind people of the behaviour you want.
“I think Xhaka is an intelligent player, contrary to what I heard in recent weeks. Finally he apologised and that’s what he [Emery] wanted from him.”
The fallout from the Xhaka situation has removed the focus somewhat from Arsenal’s overall form under Emery, with the Gunners having drawn their last four matches after taking the lead in each and having only one win in all competitions in the last six.
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