Unai Emery made the decision to strip Granit Xhaka of the Arsenal captaincy.
Brighton striker Glenn Murray has weighed in on the drama surrounding Granit Xhaka and stated that it was a ‘clever’ decision by Arsenal to strip him of the captaincy.
Murray stated that he understands the situation Xhaka was in because he thinks it’s ‘very frustrating’ getting booed by his home supporters.
Under-fire Gunners manager Unai Emery shared that Xhaka has been stripped of the captaincy [Sky Sports], as he has not been a part of Arsenal’s previous squads, including that one that recorded a draw at Vitoria on Wednesday.
Speaking to Soccer Special (05/11/19 at 7:45 pm), Brighton striker, Murray thinks Arsenal have made the correct call in taking the armband off Xhaka, but he understands why he was so frustrated.
“No, I don’t think it is a surprise,” Murray told Sky Sports. “His reaction to coming off and getting booed wasn’t great. I can understand it as a player myself, it must be very frustrating getting booed by your own fans.
“It’s not his fault he’s playing, the manager has picked him to play and be captain. I think it’s a clever decision by Arsenal to try and take him out of the spotlight and give him a bit of peace and quiet.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has arguably been Arsenal’s best player and most consistent performer during these past few seasons, has now been named as the new club captain.
Without Xhaka, normal service resumed for the Gunners, as they dropped points, this time against Vitoria in the Europa League, who thanks to ex-Spurs man Marcus Edwards netted a late equaliser against the North London club.
Nonetheless, Arsenal will now turn their attention to Premier League matters as high-flying Leicester City await them at the weekend.
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