Arsenal manager Unai Emery has revealed that Granit Xhaka is "devastated" about his clash with supporters, with the midfielder set to be dropped for the Carabao Cup tie with Liverpool on Wednesday.
In Sunday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, Xhaka appeared to provoke fans who were booing him off the field, before taking his shirt off and storming straight down the tunnel.
Speaking ahead of the game (via The Sun), Emery admitted that Xhaka was struggling to cope with the entire situation, and the club are supporting him as he looks to get past this challenging part of his career.
"It is not easy for him and for the team," Emery explained. "He is now devastated, sad. We spoke yesterday and Sunday night and this morning. He trained normally with the group but he is devastated. He is sad about the situation.
"His commitment is great every time. He wants to help. His behaviour was perfect in training, with the group and club. He knows he was wrong and he feels inside, very deep. It's normal as a human. Every player needs the supporters' support."
In his place, Emery confirmed that Mesut Özil is set to return to the Arsenal squad, for what could be just his third appearance of the season.
The boss revealed that he has held talks with Özil about his return to the team, saying: "That conversation this morning was because I wanted to listen about how he was thinking now to help us tomorrow.
"It was a very good conversation. Tomorrow he is in the group. We need his quality, his skill. We need his consistency. We need his positive mentality. Then we need him to help us on the pitch."
With club-captain Xhaka out of the squad, Emery was asked whether Özil could wear the armband for the game.
The boss refused to be drawn on the situation, but did admit that the German is in with a chance of being captain, saying: "It depends. He could be yes.”
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Source : 90min