Can Granit Xhaka salvage his Arsenal career and get the fans back onside?
Generally speaking, I do not like international breaks, they last too long and can be quite boring. However, there is one thing I do like about these periods, it gives us time to debate issues that would normally get drowned out in the busyness of club games.
One debating point for me, is there a future for Granit Xhaka at Arsenal? I feel there is but only if the fans get behind him.
Obviously he would need to perform on the pitch. None of the ugliness would have occurred if he was putting in consistently good displays week after week.
But the fans will have to play their part as well. If he does return to the team and then gets booed it is hard to see him playing at his best under those circumstances.
It may be hard for the fans to swallow after he swore at them. But it has to be done if they want Xhaka on top of his game. It is surely far better he is assisting Arsenal in their quest to recover their season than not.
Some fans will be unforgiving and that is fair but I am of the belief that once in an Arsenal shirt every player must be given full unequivocal support.
Put it this way, if Xhaka scored the winning goal that secured Champions League football would we then hold his foul-mouthed rant against him? I do not think we would.
But as I have said already, we need to support him if we expect to get the best from him.
So yes, in my opinion, we should forgive and forget and give him a second chance if he is reintroduced into the team.