Published 06:20 IST, November 6th 2019
Hector Bellerin: 'We all back Xhaka and will help him get through it'
Hector Bellerin said that the players will support Xhaka and help him through the difficult times. The comments come after the club stripped him off as captain
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has said that the players respect the club's decision to strip Granit Xhaka as captain of the football club. He also said that the players back him and will support him. The club has arrived at the decision after Xhaka's incident with the fans during the match against Crytal Place on October 27.
'We will help him get through'
Bellerin was accompanying head coach Unai Emery in the pre-match press conference of the Europa League tie against Vitoria S.C when he was asked about the club's decision and the player's reaction.
Bellerin said, "Well, as I commented after the night of the game, I think sometimes it's hard to deal with your feelings. He knows he made a mistake but as a dressing room, we all have to be together. These things happen and that's it, we all back him. He's playing his part now and we respect the players. We respect the decision of the coach and the club. For us, it's just to give him our love and care and for us, he is one of us, so we're just helping him get through it as well."
Bellerin has himself been on the receiving end of severe criticism from Arsenal fans and was asked whether he had shared his experience with his teammate. He said, "That was the situation with me, and as you can imagine it was really hard for me and it was the first time it happened to me and it was hard to deal with. I said to Granit that this is like in every walk of life, sometimes you are at the top, and the other time you are at a low. These are things you have to deal with. When these things happen to you, you have a whole squad to back you and support you. That is what happened to me, all the players told me not to worry, to get my head down, train and do better, and people forget and forgive. It will be the same situation with him. I spoke to him when it happened and time heals."
Unai Emery said that Pierre Emrick Aubameyang will be the new captain of Arsenal football club and the leadership group will comprise of Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette, and Mesut Ozil. Emery was asked about Xhaka after the Swiss player's second consecutive exclusion from the team squad since the incident. Emery said that he had informed Xhaka of the decision on Tuesday morning and that the latter accepted the decision.
Emery was further asked about the future of the midfielder at the club but the Spaniard said that it was not the right time to talk about it and that the focus should be on the Europa League game.
Updated 07:33 IST, November 6th 2019