Unai Emery’s decision to strip Granit Xhaka of the Arsenal captaincy and change him with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not been universally accepted within the dressing room.
Xhaka was eliminated as membership captain after clashing with followers in final month’s draw at house to Crystal Palace, cupping his ear to supporters who jeered him and telling them to ‘f*** off’.
Although Emery was initially cautious of punishing Xhaka, the Arsenal boss did finally axe him as skipper and he has not performed for the membership since.
However, in accordance to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, some throughout the squad really feel that Xhaka was ‘thrown under the bus’ by Emery, whereas they don’t seem to be bought on his alternative.
Although the gamers got the chance to vote on their skipper over the summer season after Laurent Koscielny’s departure, they weren’t consulted in any respect when Aubameyang was named captain.
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Incredibly, Emery didn’t handle the subject with the squad and most solely discovered when he introduced the information at a press convention earlier than dealing with Vitoria within the Europa League.
But some gamers have questioned his suitability for the function, notably due to his relationship with YouTube fan channel AFTV.
The Gabon striker has preferred some somewhat controversial Instagram posts from the channel’s account – together with one calling for Emery to be sacked – which left teammates and workers ‘unimpressed’.
Astonishingly, The Athletic’s report claims Aubameyang has even invited one among AFTV’s largest contributors, Troopz, to be in his field for video games which has prompted complaints from throughout the membership.
The pressure contained in the dressing room compounds what has been a tough begin to the season for Emery, who’s beneath intense stress after not successful a Premier League match for the reason that begin of October and slipping out of top-four rivalry.
MORE: Granit Xhaka rubbishes Unai Emery’s declare he isn’t prepared to play for Arsenal once more
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