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Arsenal fans want manager Unai Emery sacked now.
That comes after the club’s latest setback, throwing away a two goal lead against Crystal Palace on Sunday, in a match marred by a VAR controversy, and overshadowed by the conduct of club captain Granit Xhaka.
Arsenal had what appeared to be a perfectly good goal and what would have been a winner scored by Greek defender Sokratis Papastathpoulos for no discernible reason, the decision made by a 32-year old Australian VAR official who has never refereed a Premier League game.
But it was the conduct of Xhaka, the man that Emery had insisted on making captain in defiance of the supporters’ wishes that attracted all the headlines. Substituted in the 60th minute to ironic cheers, he trudged off the pitch, goading the fans, chucked the armband towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and was clearly seen to swear at the crowd. He then threw off his shirt and went straight down the tunnel.
His position as captain is now untenable and, for many supporters of the team, so is Emery’s.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.