Arsenal: Granit Xhaka has irrevocably crossed the Rubicon

Granit Xhak’s play has been below Arsenal standard for months, if not years. If he can’t handle getting booed for it, he should find another club.

Granit Xhaka has crossed the Rubicon and there is literally no way back for him now. With Arsenal facing an absolute must win game vs. a very good Leicester City team this Saturday, the former Captain has informed manager Unai Emery that he ‘can’t play’. No, he’s not carrying a debilitating injury or experiencing a family emergency such as his wife giving birth to a child. Nothing like that is going on. Granit Xhaka ‘can’t play’ vs. Leicester City because presumably, he needs a ‘safe space’ from the ‘abuse’ he’s received from Arsenal fans.

That means Granit Xhaka is now making £100,000/week to be a practice player. This debacle would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetic. Xhaka is apparently so distraught about being booed of the pitch he can no longer do his job. There is even speculation that he may have played his last game for Arsenal and could be moved in the January transfer window. If that’s indeed the case, my only response is to say “good riddance to bad rubbish.” This pity party has gone on for far too long.

How could a footballer who was voted captain by his mates be so mentally soft as to roll up into a ball and die over being jeered for a streak of poor play going back several months? It would be different if the boos were unwarranted but look at the body of evidence. Arsenal’s best midfield performance of the season came vs Burnley; a game Granit Xhaka didn’t even play. During the comeback vs Aston Villa, the midfield got immediately better after Unai Emery subbed Xhaka off. Then there was the impossibly brain dead penalty he conceded vs. Spurs.  It all points to a gaping hole in the midfield and an appalling lack of leadership.

In light of all that and the fact Crystal Palace equalized on a cross Granit Xhaka failed to cut out, it’s difficult to reconcile him being so taken aback by the pent up anger of Arsenal fans. What did he expect? Professional football is about results and the EPL is the world’s most demanding professional football league. The players are very well compensated and EPL fans rightly expect EPL players to perform at a rate commensurate with their wage packets.

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Granit Xhaka has failed to live up to those expectations for years and quite frankly, paying customers at The Emirates have every right to make their voices heard as a result. Whether or not Granit Xhaka ‘plays hard’ and ‘gives his all’ for the club is immaterial. Playing hard is the baseline expectation of any professional footballer, not an impenetrable shield against criticism. Under performing footballers who don’t want to get booed need to play better or retire. It’s really that simple.

This isn’t to say that the abuse directed at Granit Xhaka, and particularly his family, on social media is acceptable. It’s deplorable. It’s never appropriate to wish for a footballer’s legs to be broken or for their children to be stricken with life threatening illnesses. That should never happen to Granit Xhaka or anyone else.

However, it’s also true that there is an off button. Nothing in Granit Xhaka’s contract (or that of any other player for that matter) requires him to engage in social media. He’s free to opt out or block the offending parties at anytime.

On the other hand, when it comes to paying customers at The Emirates, Granit Xhaka has to accept those are the people he works for. KSE cuts the checks but the fans are the bosses. If Xhaka’s play is not up to Arsenal standard, and it really hasn’t been since he arrived in North London, he’s going to hear about it. That is as it should be.

Granit Xhaka has to own the fact that his continued poor play is at the root of the fan frustration which burst into full view as he was subbed off vs. Crystal Palace. He also has to own the fact that his reaction to that frustration was that of a petulant child, not a professional footballer. Xhaka’s apparent refusal to play vs. Leicester City in spite of being match fit is a continuation of that petulance.

By refusing to play, Xhaka is disrespecting both the fans who pay his salary and the teammates who voted him captain in the first place. If Granit Xhaka wants unconditional love, he should get a Golden Retriever because there are no safe spaces on a professional football pitch. If he can’t deal with that, he’s at the wrong club and it’s better for all parties that he never suits up for Arsenal again.