I have often wondered how an Arsenal supporter can be so full of animosity towards one of their players, especially one that has been a loyal and consistent servant to the team for nearly six years.
Granit Xhaka has been a stalwart for the Gunners and has always been one of the first names on the teamsheet, whoever has been in charge. But the fans (as much on JustArsenal as anywhere else) have been just as consistent in their vitriolic attacks on Xhaka, and he is usually the one that takes the brunt of the abuse when we lose, even if he himself has had a good performance.
He was nearly hounded out of Arsenal by the abuse when Unai Emery was in charge, and then he revealed the level of abuse he was getting, including threats to his wife and child, which is totally unacceptable.
Since then, many other Arsenal players have revealed the extent of their own abuse, and Granit Xhaka has told a meeting of the Arsenal Supporters Trust (reported by the Standard) that he is worried that the trolling is now become normal for football players, but he refuses to be intimidated any more. “I say always [to] myself, ‘The only one who can stop me is myself’,”
“Of course, injuries and things like that stop you as well, but nobody can stop me, not the people outside.
“This is why in my head I am so strong. I say that always [to] myself as well, ‘I decide when I leave, nobody else, not the fans, not the people’.
“When I am not ready, I will leave. As long as I am ready and I feel good, and I feel I can help the team, I will be here. But because of the people? Because of a bad message? Because of the bad stuff they are doing, speaking and writing? No chance.
“The one thing is if you see the people face to face, they will never tell you something bad. This is what makes me upset.
“I have been in this ‘business’ since I was 17, nearly 13 years, but I have a feeling that the abuse at the moment looks like it’s normal.
“For me, it doesn’t help anybody and I think this is something we can improve on, a lot.”
But the Swiss international is well aware that it is only a minority and the Arsenal fans are what makes football so special when they are urging the team on in the big matches. He concluded: “After six years of now being here, against Spurs [the atmosphere] is always amazing, but I think against Wolverhampton, after 70 minutes, it was in the top three since I have been here,”
“The atmosphere was unbelievable and pushed us until the last moment. People forget sometimes that the fans are so important for us as well.”