Mikel Arteta says that Granit Xhaka still has a future at Arsenal despite his sending off in their 1-0 loss to Burnley on Sunday.
Xhaka’s red card and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s own goal condemned Arsenal to a home defeat to battling Burnley.
The Gunners host high-flying Southampton at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, with Arteta throwing his support behind the embattled midfielder Xhaka.
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Asked if Xhaka had apologised to Arteta and his team-mates, the Arsenal boss said: “Well whatever happens internally I’m sorry but I cannot discuss.
“It’s been resolved internally and this is all I can say. He has had tough times here and he’s not the only one, there’s a lot of players that have had rocky moments.
“But what I can say about Granit is that his professionalism and his commitment with the club and with his team-mates is maximal.
“He knows and we all know that he had a moment where he’s lost it and I know the reason why. But what I cannot do is just throw everything that he has done away because he’s made a mistake.
“We all make mistakes and I am here as well to protect the players when I see that they deserve that.
“And for sure Granit is one of them, for the way that he approaches every training session, for the way he wants to do things in the right way all the time and for the professional that he is.”