‘My bags were packed’
Granit Xhaka has claimed that there was “only one person” who wanted him to stay at Arsenal during his time as captain.
Xhaka was given the armband in 2019 during a difficult spell for the Gunners as he struggled to replicate the same form he was in when playing for Switzerland at club level.
The midfielder even cupped his ears to an angry Arsenal crowd when substituted in a game against Crystal Palace.
At the time, Xhaka had agreed to join Hertha Berlin but told the Players’ Tribune last year that a change of heart blocked the move at the eleventh hour.
“My bags were packed. The passports were out I was done with Arsenal. Finished,” he said.
“I was just going to say goodbye to Mikel [Arteta], and then we would board the plane.”
Now at Bayer Leverkusen, Xhaka revealed in a recent interview with The Athletic that Arteta was the only person who wanted him to stay at the club.
“The club showed me little respect even though I was the captain. It was clear they wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible, apart from one person: Mikel Arteta.
“Mikel told me he wanted me to stay. But I wasn’t sure.
“I could not imagine myself playing for Arsenal again. I said to him, ‘I just want to be somewhere where the fans don’t boo me’. But he was so convincing.
“For the first time in my life, I took a decision without talking to my family first. I got up and said, ‘OK, I’ll stay’. We embraced and, from that day on, I returned to training and it was like nothing ever happened.
“Mikel picked me up and brought me back to playing at a level I always knew I could play at.
“Four years later, it ended with me almost scoring a hat-trick [against Wolves in his last appearance] and Arsenal fans screaming that they wanted me to stay. It was a goosebumps moment.”
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