Granit Xhaka has apologised for his furious outburst during Arsenal's Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last Sunday.
Xhaka was substituted to thunderous boos and he responded by telling Arsenal fans to "f**k off" before cupping his ears then storming down the tunnel.
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The club captain has now released a statement on social media following Sunday's incident.
"After taking some time to reflect on what happened on Sunday afternoon, I would like to give you an explanation rather than a quick response," the statement read.
"The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply. I love this club and will always give 100 per cent on and off the pitch.
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"My feeling of not being understood my fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and in social media over the last weeks and months have hurt me deeply.
"People have said things like 'we will break your legs', 'kill your wife' and 'wish that your daughter gets cancer'.
"That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.
"In this situation, I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that supports our club, our team and myself with positive energy. That is not my intention and I'm sorry if that's what people thought.
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"My wish is that we get back to a place of mutual respect, remembering why we fell in love with this game in the first place. Let's move forward positively together.
"Granit."
Arsenal also posted a message on their official Twitter account. They shared a picture of his statement accompanied with the words: "The following is a message from Granit Xhaka...
Speaking after his side's 2-2 draw with Palace, Unai Emery refused to defend Xhaka.
"He was wrong, He was wrong," he said. "Now we need to stay calm and speak with him, to speak inside about that reaction. His reaction was wrong in that moment.
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"We are here because we have supporters. We are the workers inside, but we play for them. We need to have a lot of respect from them, through applause and criticism.
"It's not the moment to speak about that (if Xhaka will stay as captain)," the Spaniard added. "First, I want to speak with him and the club, and we want to stay calm before we speak about that. He was not right to do that."
Will Xhaka remain as Arsenal captain? Let us know what you think.
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