Arsenal go to Liverpool in complete disarray for Wednesday’s League Cup quarterfinal (9.45pm).
The Gunners are in the midst of a captaincy crisis after Granit Xhaka told fans to “F*** off” in response to him being booed off in Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Crystal Palace.
Coach Unai Emery revealed on Tuesday that Xhaka was dropped for the trip to Liverpool, saying the "devastated" Swiss midfielder was not ready to return to action.
Asked if the skipper should apologise and resign, Emery says: "But now, what is the response we are seeing?
"It's that he is devastated and he is very down. First is to recover him, his feelings. We need our family, our friends, our supporters to support us, like us. Love us, everybody.
"He is not feeling that with the supporters."
BREAKING RANKS: Gunner Hector Bellerin, left. Picture: Eddie Keogh/Reuters.
After Sunday’s drama, Hector Bellerin was the only Arsenal player who responded in a positive way.
The Spanish rightback tweeted: “We are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it’s not easy dealing with them.
“It’s time to lift each other up, not to push each other away. We only win when we are together.”
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/COYG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COYG pic.twitter.com/dkDI7M3xew
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin)
Meanwhile in team news, Gunners boss Emery has given nothing away in terms of his selections ahead of his showdown with Jurgen Klopp.
It is, however, expected that Klopp will rest most of his first-team regulars after yesterday’s training session featured many of his fringe and younger players.
FACE-OFF: Oxlade-Chamberlain. Picture: Paul Childs/Reuters.
After his influential cameo in the comeback draw with Manchester United and his Champions League double last week, former Gunner Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a chance to start against his former clubmates.