Granit Xhaka: Social media abuse pushed Arsenal star to 'boiling point'

Granit Xhaka reached "boiling point" after his wife and daughter were abusively targeted on social media, the Arsenal captain said as he spoke for the first time to explain his angry reaction to the club's supporters booing him.

The embattled Swiss international stopped short of issuing a full apology to the fans, however, even after his manager Unai Emery said the 27-year-old's reaction was "wrong" when he was hauled off in the 61st minute in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

Emery confirmed Xhaka wouldn't feature against Wolves on Saturday in the Premier League.

The midfielder received ironic cheers as he first made his ufacasino way off the pitch before they turned into boos from a section of the support at the Emirates Stadium.

He didn't help himself when he cupped his ears looking at the crowd, didn't shake Emery's hand, angrily took off his jersey and launched into a foul-mouthed tirade.

"The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply," Xhaka said in a statement posted on Arsenal's twitter feed and website late Thursday. "I love this club and always give 100% on and off the pitch.

"My feeling of not being understood by 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 คาสิโนยูฟ่าเบท 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 support our club, our team and myself, with positive energy. That has not been my intention and I'm sorry if that's what people thought.

"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."