The stadium that hated him, now worships him: The story… of Granit Xhaka’s life against Palace! Can anyone imagine what Granit Xhaka has achieved with Arsenal this year? It’s not just the goal, it’s not just the amazing match he made against Crystal Palace. It is the fact that four years earlier, on the same field, against the same opponent who had experienced the worst moment of his career, the audience of the same team deifies him!Arsenal wins with typical ease with 4-1 over Crystal Palace. Looking for the protagonists, one can very easily refer to the excellent Gabriel Martinelli, who has opened the scoring, Bukayo Saka of two goals and one assist in 90 minutes, Ben White who is decisive, and the contribution of Rob Holding, who deservedly filled the void of William Saliba, in his first appearance as a starter this year.However, the credits must go largely to Granit Xhaka. Not necessarily for the goal. That’s probably the least of it, despite the fact that he has cumulatively surpassed, in all competitions, every productive performance in his career. But not much more, for the way he fights.He has not missed any Arsenal match. He has been chosen as a starter in 90% of them, he has four goals and five assists at Premier League level, and his appearances fully justify the fact that so many people on YouTube have produced videos with the now well-known and unexceptional title, “Xhaka’s redemption”.The most… extreme thing in the whole case, is the fact that the Swiss found himself celebrating at the “Emirates” and dedicating a goal to his daughter, against the same opponent, who four years ago experienced the worst moment of his football career.
In October 2019, Xhaka is captain of Arsenal and Unai Emery is on the bench. The crowd boos him, the Swiss walks off the pitch, mocks the home fans and takes off his shirt before even entering the dressing room.
“I’m leaving…tomorrow” was clearly stated with his attitude, but Mikel Arteta arrived in London to change his mind. And he succeeded. It brought out his… survival instinct, convinced him to stay, and we were to reach March 2023, for ultimate vindication to take place.The Swiss finds the back of the net for the second time in the same week at the Emirates and a whole stadium chants his name. His daughter can be proud of her father. He brought the whole world up and down, but he proved that he deserves the applause.No goal in his career will be more important than this one. People who criticized him have accepted him and people who admired him now worship him. Granit Xhaka’s history with Arsenal and Crystal Palace, spanning almost 1500 days, in the same stadium, and the contrast of reactions from the Emirates crowd, is truly a life lesson!Dimitris Manakos
Our friends at Dublin Arsenal give an amusing and informative review of the Palace game
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