In October 2019, a section of the Emirates cheered the news that Granit Xhaka was being substituted. The player responded by cupping his ear and encouraging the crowd to carry on their jeering. He then threw down the captain’s armband. Both sides were frustrated that Arsenal had just thrown away a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace.
If someone had said in that moment that some Gooners would one day regret the midfielder leaving, few would have believed it. Certainly many did not think he was good enough for supporters to be worried six years later about him being someone who could come back and haunt us. After that draw with the Eagles, many demanded the Swiss international never play for the club again. That seemed likely when Unai Emery’s request for his skipper to apologise was refused. The feeling was mutual. Until Mikel Arteta arrived and changed his mind, Xhaka was prepared to leave London.
The Abuse and the Reflection
First though, he explained in full detail the level of abuse he was facing daily. Death threats were sent to his wife, morons wished that his baby develop cancer, and on more than one occasion he was verbally abused simply for stopping for a photo. He was leading a club with one of the most hysterical fanbases in the UK, one that loves a scapegoat. Yet should anyone have to read these vile messages just because they are deemed bad at their job?
It forced some supporters to look inwards. Arsene Wenger had warned that a small portion of fans were in danger of damaging the proud values he had promoted. For decades, Arsenal had been the classy club, the institution on and off the pitch who did things the right way. Now we had our own players challenging the social media conduct of those who were meant to be supporting them.
Society was becoming used to cowards hiding behind screens and targeting celebrities, but by refusing to say sorry just to satisfy a PR box, he confronted the issue directly. Like many bullies, they did not like it when someone pushed back.
Even those who did not rate his footballing ability respected a husband and father for sticking by his convictions and not being peer pressured into conforming. The irony was that at a time when our dressing room was accused of lacking leadership, that was exactly what Xhaka was displaying.
The Last Laugh?
I felt the midfielder always showed personality by not being afraid to make a mistake and by not forcing the risky pass. Now he was proving his class by sticking to his values. He was not going to change who he was, how he conducts himself, or abandon his ethos simply to be told what to say.
Take away the emotion and Xhaka deserved to get the last laugh. Which one deserves respect? A professional doing his best or so called fans who wish death and illness on people because something as trivial as sport is not going their way?
His former employers have not added any more silverware since he departed. He went to Germany, won a Double, and became an invincible for Bayer Leverkusen, not losing a domestic game all season.
Now back in the Premiership, he has been one of the signings of the summer for Sunderland. Some assumed at this stage of his career he would go through the motions yet so far, on and off the pitch, he has been instrumental in keeping the Black Cats away from a relegation battle. He has made a career out of proving his doubters wrong.
If this were a movie, Granit Xhaka would get the last laugh on Saturday. Yet he probably has too much class to celebrate it.
What do you think Gooners, will Xhaka have his moment or will Arsenal silence the narrative?
Let’s discuss in the comments.
Dan Smith
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I believe our midfield and solid defence will silence Xhaka and his teammates.
The Sunderland game is very important so a draw or loss will be detrimental.
In our next 4 games against Sunderland, Tottenham, Bayern and Chelsea, I can only accept a draw against Bayern and maybe Chelsea.
He already had the last laugh, by leaving us after his most successful season at the club.
Needless to say, new whipping boys have been found, such as Martinelli and Merino.
I agree Ken
I hope Martinelli has stopped that with his start to the season as an impact sub
Shame he always seems to get that niggling injury
Sort of agree. He left on a high note, his reputation restored and it was well acknowledged that he was the missing piece the year he left as the left side of our attacking force dried up. He was loved more by his managers than by the fans. played out of position too long because we never bought a proper defensive midfielder until Partey arrive (but was rarely healthy). We are an extremely big and tough team now but for most of his first few years Xhaka was the ONLY Gunner willing to take on the opposition players that bullied our smaller skilled players (Kolasinac did sometimes). He took many yellow cards in retribution against opponents that bullied and kicked our best. For that he was sent off a few times to the fans annoyance but he did this to protect his teammates. that is why he was loved more by his teammates than the fans.
And I don’t think there is any last laugh here because he did not leave with any bad blood between him and the fans. We were all in good terms.
I believe the fans forgave him for reacting and throwing down the captain armband after they jeered at him that match.
And He also forgave the fans for jeering him that day as he continued playing because of Arteta and even had his best season before leaving at the end of his best season.
As for the insane people who abused his family, those are not true Arsenal fans and they deserved to be punished severely by the law.
Perhaps he still had the abuse to his family in mind and that’s why he left.
Well, Arsenal comes before any ex player so I hope we win against his Sunderland team on Saturday because we need that 3 points more than them.
I don’t think he will ever be on good terms with those who said what they said / wrote what they wrote
No he will never.
But they don’t even make up to 0.5% of the Arsenal fanbase in England.
So generally he will still have Arsenal in his good side.
This Sunderland team is so way more than just Xhaka, they’re so organized as a team. Yes Xhaka is very key and like any other former player he will want to prove something, He’s going to be extra motivated to do well against his former club not because he wants to prove those hooligans wrong but because like any other former player they always wants prove something against former employers.
Let’s also not forget Xhaka left Arsenal on good terms. My prediction is that this Arsenal midfield is going to overwhelm Xhaka and Sunderland.
Imho what Xhaka did when being subbed off was no worse than Ian Wright shouting F**k off you w**kers out of the dressing room window when we lost at home to Blackburn in the Double season of 97/98.
Those so called fans that sent messages hoping his family died in a house fire and that his child gets cancer, I wonder how they would feel if those things happened to their families. Absolutely disgusting runts !!
100 percent agree
Theo Walcott scored a few goals against us so it’s normal for players to want to prove themselves against their former teams.
I have the believe that our midfield and defense will contain them and still reduce their chances of having shots on target.
I know this won’t last forever but we can do it against Sunderland.
Merino.
Trossard. Eze. Saka.
Rice. Zubimendi.
Calafiori. Gabriel. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
It baffles me how some people go so low as to insult and abuse one’s family and/or children just because that person doesn’t or didn’t meet the standard you expected of them. Personal attack and insult , as deplorable as it is, is one thing but attacking the family is just diabolical. I didn’t like the way things went with adebayor or van persie but I would NEVER insult Them let alone Thier families. I am of the age to know that such behaviours indicates one is possessed by a demon or demons so I do my best to steer clear of such people and never interact with them on any level.
Anyways I was and still am happy with granit xhaka , his exploits with Leverkusen is reward for his hard work and dedication , and I hope arsenal fans that aren’t possessed with demons cheer him on and gives him a good reception come weekend.
For me, while the player in question has to put up with being criticized to a certain extent, as that goes with the territory. But any brainless plank that then oversteps the mark and wishes ill on family members is going way over the line.
Anyone who goes that far, really need to look at themselves in the mirror.
Xhaka once said ‘ I hate walking the few last meters to the tunnel, I still recognize their faces, the same people stills sits there.
Seems as, some of the harshest critics of the former Arsenal man were season tickets holders, they may not have like a bone in the Swedish, but the taunts were nothing short of disgusting.
But not much may have changed since, there is always room for a scapegoat, but the player in himself is a legend of the game in his own right, he has long buried the hatchet and am not sure he is in search of a last laugh
Swedish?
Jax,
I did wonder at the Swedish comment myself.🤷♂️
Thank you Jax
And my apology Derek
Swiss rather
He may well hold a dual citizen’s card too, though I suspect it would be Albania or Kosovo 🙂
Gunsmoke,
And I believe that his brother plays for Albania or Kosovo, if my memory serves me correctly.
And also, am I right in thinking that neither of those two country’s get on well. Or am I imagining that?. 🤷♂️👍
You could be opening up a whole can of worms about countries coexisting.
But that’s where football comes in, it is often used to unites countries.
A keep telling a certain fan, football is not all about winning, A BIG PART ABOUT FOOTBALL IS CELEBRATING DIVERSITY.
We should give him standing ovation upon entering field. We are Arsenal, we are one family. Start the game and finish with 2-0 win. That’s win̈ner mentality.
Never a fan because he didn’t live up to the expectations when he joined us if being a bone crushing destroyer of a midfielder who could also blast in ten goals a season. In that sense he was way over valued as well as being over rated. As a defensive midfielder he was often too slow,, often beaten to the ball, which was one of the main reasons he had to resort to niggly fouls. In this regard he and Ramsey often let the team down with their failure to be Declan Rice. Attack wise we had Ozil, Sanchez and Carzola but needed more from Xhaka and his defensive partner. At the same I’m glad that he had a memorable final season with us, as well as his success in Germany, with the the Swiss national team and currently with high flying Sunderland, a club I have always admired.
Xhaka had his limitations but history now suggests that he was probably platformed incorrectly when he first joined Arsenal and for some years afterwards.
When his role was redefined he was recognised as one of the best MF in Europe.
😂
For once I actually find myself agreeing with David regarding Xhaka’s best position.
While I’ve been one of Arteta’s biggest critics in the past, to be fair to him he found Xhaka’s perfect position, hence his last season with us was by far and away his best season for us.
(Agreeing with David🤦♂️) Now! I need to see a doctor. 😂
Bar his last season most fans rated him lowly and unworthy to play for Arßenal, but the coaches had different view. Startjng from Wenger, Emery and Arteta he’s always the first name in the teamlist. Even when we had Guendouzi, Elneny, Ceballos he was always there. Some times he had to cover in the defense. Fans actually started appreciating him only when he started scoring goals and assists.. We only see the output and hardly appreciate the hardwork behind it.
For ARSENAL WOMEN next match is more than decisive to stay in the race. Saturday lunch time against the League leaders Chelsea. To narrow the gap from the now 5 to 2 pts. If gap extends to 8 unassailable lead given Chelsea’s armour.
An interesting and thought provoking article for sure.
My mindset on Xhaka and his time at Arsenal has always remained the same.
Xhaka was an integral and hugely important player for us, who seemed to be misunderstood by so many of his very own fans.
Undoubtedly he played with his heart on his sleeve and any criticism he received in his latter years especially, was unjust and extremely harsh. Having a go at his family, simply put, was abhorrent and crossed the line.
At the time he signed for us, we’d lost our tough centre and were an easy touch. We lacked an aggressive player in the middle – a General and leader on the pitch; someone who could put in the tackles and take control of the game themselves and lift those other players around us. Xhaka wasn’t that type of player when we signed him. But cos he wore his heart on his sleeve and through his own accord, he stepped up and took on that mantle – when so many others around him shirked their duties and buried their heads in the sand on the pitch.
Xhaka put himself in alien territory and as a result, he made countless reckless challenges; received bookings and numerous red cards. He was playing out of position and not in a role he’d played before. In effect, for the love of his team and colleagues, he made a rod for his own back – not only from within his own fanbase, but also from opposing teams, their fans, and the FA too. He was an easy target for all to shout at.
We’ve all seen tackles by other players that went unnoticed by refs – yet if Xhaka had made that tackle, there’d be a car outside the stadium to whisk him off to FA HQ immediately for disciplinary action.
Xhaka’s time at Arsenal will always be tainted by certain examples, yet if people zoom out and take into account why those things happened, they’d see a player who gave his absolute best for our club, when others around him didn’t.
Xhaka deserves every plaudit he receives, cos he’s a hugely underrated player. We all know the impact he had at Leverkusen and now at Sunderland. Without him, could Leverkusen have the season and success they did? I doubt that very much.
I just hope that come the weekend, he doesnt come back to haunt us.
That is a glowing account indeed.
Hi Sue – id like to think that i’ve been accurate in my assessment of Xhaka and his time at Arsenal. It’s only a glowing account if its deserved, and i believe he deserves far more credit than he gets for the reasons I stated in my thoughts..
Let’s get the facts straight though and back to reality. Apart from last season when we were injury plagued, have we really missed Xhaka. And in the season where we bottled it and collapsed at the final stage, I for one didn’t see him leading the way. As everyone has acknowledged, he has his limitations and we should be able to exploit them to our advantage at Sunderland.
Let’s hope we do. Xhaka did sign off in fine form and I, like many others found the revolting comments to him about his family appalling. The fact that he came back from that deserves considerable credit.
I loved Xhaka and gutted he left. Had he stayed I think we would have won the prem with him the next season.
I do find it strange that people mention the amount of red cards he got. I believe he received 4 red cards with us, not that many really. Patrick Viera got 8 red cards yet he doesn’t get any stick for those.
Xhaka is Arsenal family and he deserves to be cheered when he visits us ❤️🤍
He’ll probably be sent off and his team end up being pummeled 4-0.Xhaka don’t have the ability to haunt us,not with Sunderland.
Matthew,
Be very careful, don’t tempt fate. 🤷♂️
Think some have already done that lol
A the beginning he disappointed me
He seemed to lack discipline was petulant, booking, sending offs and was not a leader
He often seemed frustrated and committed silly fouls
By the time he left i was actually sad to see him go
Imo We were better a team with him in rather then out of the team
He always has a mistake in him and usually a big one . I thought MA was quite clever and pushed him further up the top on the left
If he made a mistake, lost the ball then it was easier to cover him at top rather then being last man
When i look back I can actually relate to why he was frustrated
He had good players around him but unfortunately a few showed no desire or passion for our club and just showed up for a pay day
He.may not be a world beater but no one can deny he has made Sunderland a far better side when he in. A really good signing for them
Hopefully he make a few mistakes Saturday and we punish him with a win
Onwards and upwards
xhaka has good and bad sides. To be honest his reckless red cards and penalties dearly cost us vital points on numerous occasions. He agitated the unusually sleeping Anfield for Arsenal to lose precious 2 pts. Disdained Arsenal publicly. ->+
Sky Sports predicted Arsenal will have a “bad day at office” at Sunderland and lose 2-1. BBC though nullified that with its normal 2-0 Arsenal win. Gary Neville sitting on the fence with his 1-1 prediction. Clash of imaginations! Where then lies our Dan’s?
Don’t let’s make this into something that it isn’t. Xhaka, like others, was a good player who left, and is now back to play against Arsenal .No.Big.Deal.
Did you guys read Xhaka’s latest interview with the Athletic? He talks about the chaos and lack of discipline Arteta inherited when he arrived at Arsenal. It’s a good interview check it out.
I know he said that the chairs had to be rearranged in an order satisfactory to Arteta. Did you mean that?
Yes, but you need to read the whole interview.
Well, game 11 is on, Granit is a player who wants to be there when the going gets tough., and he is captain and they need points every game to stay Premier League. You never know, with his long rangers. But I want Raya to be excellent for the team and come out top.
It should be remembered that Granit made up his mind to leave as soon as club dropped him off captaincy, seemingly favouring bully fans against him. He was earnestly BEGGED to help the next manager for a season.