Who was in the wrong: Granit Xhaka or the Arsenal fans?

Granit Xhaka was booed off the field by Arsenal fans on Sunday, and then the captain cussed at the crowd, threw off his shirt, and stormed down the tunnel: but was Xhaka in the wrong, or were the fans?

It was eerie, gut-wrenching, and difficult to watch. No, I’m not talking about Arsenal’s performance against Crystal Palace on Sunday, although that would probably fall into the same categories. I’m referring to the incident which occurred 15 minutes into the 2nd half, when Granit Xhaka was subject to rather noticeable jeering from his own fans while being substituted off for Bukayo Saka, following Palace’s equaliser.

While the Arsenal fans’ booing was irksome and rather uncalled for, Xhaka’s response was the same. He threw the captains armband on the ground, mockingly raising his arms toward the crowd, before cussing at them, ripping off his shirt, and storming down the tunnel.

Now, plenty of the reaction towards Xhaka has been negative, including from some notable figures such as Ian Wright, and Arsenal manager Unai Emery himself, but it’s important not to excuse the fans in this situation.

Not only did Xhaka have a decent game, but he even assisted a goal for the Gunners, and had a strong 2018-19 season as well. While Xhaka most certainly isn’t one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, or even the best at Arsenal, the hatred towards him from many Arsenal fans goes beyond the realms of what is acceptable, and what is rational. He hasn’t had a great season so far, but how on earth is that supposed to change if the fans treat him the way they do?

While some rare footballers can perform no matter what, there are some that feed off of confidence, and for fans to expect a player to perform to their expected level whilst also dealing with verbal abuse from those very fans on social media and in person on the regular, is rather silly.

It was wrong of the fans to boo Xhaka off the pitch. But it was also wrong of Xhaka to react in the manner he did.

Sure, he is human, and I’m sure most of us would have done much worse if we were in his boots in that situation, but as someone who’s supposed to be a leader at his football club, wearing the armband, his reaction was too emotional, and might have completely soured his relationship with the fans for good.

While most of the tension between Xhaka and the fans was aimed mostly from the latter to the former ever since he joined in 2016, Xhaka reciprocating that bitterness for the first time on Sunday will probably prevent the relationship from ever mending. So both sides of the story were wrong for their actions in the heat of that moment, and at the end of the day, neither side will reap any reward either.

Now, Arsenal fans are stuck with a captain who is bitter towards them, feels unfairly treated by them, and probably won’t perform to his best because of it – but Xhaka performing to his best is what those same fans have been crying out for for years, isn’t it?