"This is hate. Pure hate" - this single incident marked the moment months, potentially years worth of frustration reached boiling point as Granit Xhaka, then-captain of a club as proud as Arsenal told his own supporters to f*** off as he made his way off the pitch.
His number had come up on the fourth official's electronic board, spelling the end of his afternoon as Arsenal tried to regain a foothold in their game against Crystal Palace, at what was a rain-sodden Emirates stadium in late October of 2019. The Gunners had raced into a 2-0 lead, only to be pegged back by the Eagles.
The atmosphere inside the ground was therefore already volatile, especially as Arsenal had been struggling under Unai Emery in the weeks leading up to the clash. It reached fever pitch by the time Xhaka had cupped his ears and thrown both his shirt and armband to the ground in anger.
