By Rob Worthington (Deputy Editor)
Granit Xhaka’s 7-year stay in North London came to an end last week with the Swiss international opting tomove back to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen for the final years of his career. His departure raises a question – how will Granit Xhaka be remembered at Arsenal?
A few standout moments spring to mind when reflecting on Xhaka’s time at the club. His first goal, a piledriver against Hull. His first red card, received for a silly challenge on Swansea’s Modou Barrow (throwback). His brief stint as club captain.
Then came the infamous Crystal Palace tantrum, spelling an end to his tenure as captain. And of course, soon followed his redemption story. Beginning with a fantastic display at centre-back at Stamford Bridge in 2020 and concluding with a brace in his final game as an Arsenal player in 2023.
From the outside looking in, some appear to struggle to understand why Granit Xhaka has left Arsenal with his reputation intact. For a small number of Arsenal fans, the Crystal Palace meltdown was the final straw. However, the vast majority have looked past it, and for good reason.
Xhaka’s thrashing of his shirt onto the ground after being substituted that day signified an almighty act of disrespect against the Arsenal badge. Not only his shirt, but also his captain’s armband. He’d of course only held the privilege of wearing the armband for a few months at this point.
The club recognised that a captain simply couldn’t keep the armband after such an act and were correct to strip him of it. But looking back on the affair, many Arsenal fans accept they played a role in producing such a response from the midfielder.
Arsenal were in a rut at this point. Quite obviously, the wheels were coming off under Unai Emery. The Spaniard had reached a desperate stage of his short Arsenal career in which he’d regularly disregard all sense of defensive stability to throw on household attacking names such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe, and Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal were playing pretty terribly against Palace so Emery made the move, hooking his midfield anchor in Xhaka to make room for a more attacking minded player. As Xhaka trudged off, understandably disappointed, Arsenal fans took out their disappointment on the club’s situation more generally on their captain.
Xhaka, for many of the Arsenal faithful, characterised a very sad few years at the Emirates. Last season was the first of seven in which Xhaka was part of an Arsenal team which finished in the top four. He wasn’t solely responsible for Arsenal’s late 2010s decline, but his tenure at the club coincided with it.
As such, many Arsenal fans didn’t like Granit Xhaka. They didn’t like how regularly he played, and they didn’t like that he was captain of their club. Some rather stupidly abused his family members on social media to voice their dissent, straining relations with the midfielder. That day in October 2019, a bomb which had been ticking towards detonation for a fair while finally exploded.
And an understanding of the unacceptable actions of both Xhaka and the fans that day thankfully enabled that relationship to be repaired. It wasn’t an easy fix. Xhaka of course had his bags packed ready to join Hertha Berlin in December 2019 before Mikel Arteta intervened.
Nevertheless, thanks to Arteta, Granit Xhaka was able to write one of the Premier League’s great redemption stories between 2020 and 2023. Both Xhaka and the fans were able to put their differences to one side, and for that reason the Switzerland international will always be remembered fondly in the north of London.
People point to figures such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas, and Robin van Persie who some Arsenal fans don’t hold in such high regard these days. They don’t understand how such influential individuals can be thought to hold a less positive Arsenal legacy than Granit Xhaka.
The difference between Xhaka and some of the aforementioned is the relentless desire Xhaka showed to restore his image. Ultimately, when the going got tough, Xhaka could have left. But he eventually opted to stay, and he left Arsenal having played a pivotal role in the second highest point scoring season in the Premier League era. Redemption.
Not only that, but he’s left the club showing the utmost respect to those in charge. Reports of an agreement with Leverkusen emerged in the media almost two months ago now. That said, it became evident upon the opening of the transfer window that Xhaka would not leave until Arsenal made significant progress in their pursuit of Declan Rice.
At no point did the veteran midfielder appear agitated. He patiently waited for his move, and he picked the right time too. Xhaka has always been a bit of a square peg forced into a round hole playing in that left #8 role. He was always going to be replaced eventually.
For both parties, an economic opportunity presented itself. Off the back of Xhaka’s career best goal scoring season, Arsenal could get some decent cash for the midfielder. And the Switzerland international could still grab himself a decent contract elsewhere. Very decent in fact, 5 years at that.
And the emergence of the concrete links with Leverkusen emerged just at the right time. It gave Arsenal fans the chance to say goodbye to a man they had grown to love in recent years.
Since the arrival of Mikel Arteta, many in North London finally began to understand how important Xhaka was to Arsenal. The Gunners may have risen from challenging for Europa League qualification to genuine title contenders, but in each of the variations of Arsenal we have seen on that ascent, Xhaka has been a key piece of the jigsaw.
The word legend is used very liberally in football these days. If I’m being quite honest, I don’t think it’d be correct to say Granit Xhaka is an Arsenal legend. However, he did transform himself from villain to hero, and for that reason he should have the respect of the Arsenal faithful.
Xhaka will be missed at Arsenal next season without a shadow of a doubt. No one would’ve been up in arms if his exit was blocked this summer. But all good things must come to an end. After working so hard to restore his Arsenal image, it’s quite fitting that Xhaka left on his own terms.
It is comforting to think that on a September night in the German Rhine later this year, the Xhaka family will be able to watch Arsenal return to the Champions League with warmth in their hearts rather than disdain. A truly beautiful turnaround.
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