The Swiss international Granit Xhaka has had a very stormy relationship with the Arsenal fans ever since he arrived, when it was widely thought that Arsene Wenger vastly overpaid for the midfielder at around £30 million. The Gunners had been looking for a beast of a DM for many years and the fans simply didn’t think he was good enough, especially as N’Golo Kante was available at the same time.
He already had a reputation as a hothead in the Bundesliga and his 2 red cards in his first six months with the Gunners confirmed that perception.
His reputation went rock bottom just a month after Unai Emery named Xhaka as Arsenal captain, when he was jeered by the home fans when substituted against Crystal Palace, and his very angry reaction made it seem that he had played his last game in the Red & White, but when Emery was replaced by Mikel Arteta the new boss persuaded him to stay and promised that he had every faith in him.
The fans didn’t like that either, and he continued being the scapegoat for any defeats suffered by the team. But this season, as the club started climbing the table, Xhaka started receiving accolades for his solid performances, and when he scored our rocket-shot third goal against Man United last week, Xhaka was clapped and cheered off the pitch by the home fans and it looks like his rehabilitation is now complete.
Arteta thanked the Arsenal fans afterwards for their new love for Xhaka and explained how important his experience is to our young team, and how much he is respected within the club.
And then this is what happened when Xhaka was leaving the stadium…..
So, do you think we will see less animosity to Xhaka from the fans from now on?