David Seaman has told disgraced Arsenal captain he ‘MUST apologise’ to fans for telling them to ‘f*** off’ during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Furious supporters have called for the Gunners to strip the midfielder of the captaincy and even get him out of the club following his angry response to supporters’ jeers at the weekend.
Xhaka was sarcastically cheered when he was substituted on the hour-mark against Palace and then booed when he slowly walked off the pitch. He responded by cupping his ear to the crowd, telling supporters to ‘f**k off’, angrily stripping off his shirt and storming straight down the tunnel without shaking manager Unai Emery’s hand.
It is claimed Xhaka has refused Arsenal’s request to issue an apology to supporters, while he reportedly has the support of his team-mates who were said to be appalled by fans’ behaviour at the Emirates.
But Seaman believes the club have waited too long to issue an official response to what happened, saying they have missed their opportunity to nip the situation in the bud ahead of their Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday.
Asked about his reaction to Sunday’s events, the former goalkeeper told the Sports Breakfast: “I was really surprised, first of all that he didn’t run off. The fans reacted to that first of all and obviously they let their feeling known about his performance as well.
“But he’s just got to get off and accept that, there’s no way you can do what he did, putting his hand to his ear and then swearing at the crowd.
“It’s something as an Arsenal captain you just cannot do. You have just got to get on with it, get off, and deal with it afterwards.
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“The other thing that surprised me is the fact Xhaka has not come out and apologised to the fans.
“I was captain at Arsenal for quite a few games and if something like that happened to me I would have been straight out in the press saying, ‘I’m really sorry for my actions’.
“But nothing has come out yet.
“It needs to have been dealt with before now. We’ve got a big game tomorrow against Liverpool and nothing has been said, it could have easily have been dealt with.
“It’s strange nothing had come out and nothing had come out from Xhaka as well. What does that lead you to believe, that he’s not happy at the club anymore?”
Despite claims the Arsenal players want Xhaka to remain as skipper, it’s highly unlikely the Swiss midfielder will keep the armband.
Unai Emery picked out five captains at the start of the season, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil forming the rest of the Gunners’ leadership group.
But Seaman believes another man would be a better fit than the rest of the squad – summer signing David Luiz.
Asked about Xhaka’s future as captain, the three-time title winner said: “I don’t think fans will forgive him that, ever.
“He’s not one of their favourite players anyway, and then the fact he becomes captain was a surprise to a lot of people. I’m not sure about the way the captain was chosen, for me the manager has to choose the captain, you don’t let the players do it because the players have favourites.
“What happens now, do they pick another captain? Does the manager choose? And who would he choose? Looking at the squad it’s hard to pick out somebody who is going to be a regular player.
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“There are not many leaders there at all.
“I think David Luiz would be a good leader and a good choice, but is he too fresh in the squad to make him captain straight away?
“That wouldn’t bother me, I’d have him as captain any day.”