On reflection, I think that the problem with Xhaka is that he has become the lightening rod for the manager's mistakes/incompetence. Its understandable, if a bit unfair that the player has become the target for a dysfunctional midfield that is wasting the talent at our team's disposal, but that's always the problem - it is the player directly in the public view week in week out. My take on Xhaka is that until the weekend, he was pretty much a decent professional who never hid as club captain. It is Emery who created the situation, both by treating Xhaka as undroppable; failing to see that his strengths and weaknesses are wrong for the team and then compounding this by making him captain. IMO, the player knows all this - and I think his reaction was a combination of shock hurt and frustration that he was the one copping the flack for Emery's mistakes.

If Xhaka is respected and liked by the players, I suppose that this is not the worst reason to make him captain, in the absense of the other factors. The problem is first and foremost the manager's tactical shortomings. That said, while I can relate to his emotional outburst, Xhaka has now made worse. We live in times where every incident is analysed to the nth degree and often overblown. Personally, I would just tend to move on and forget Sunday, but the baying mob demands its piece of flesh now, so not issuing an apology - even if it sticks in the throat from the player's perspective - isn't clever.

Overall, I am not surprised that this has happened under Emery's watch though. He really is a poor manager and I would love to see him gone.