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Granit Xhaka keen to fix abusive relationship with Arsenal fans after ‘f*** off’ row

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GRANIT XHAKA wants a more open relationship with the Arsenal fans who tried to hound him out of the club.

The Swiss international was ready to quit the Emirates last month and pushed the Gunners to accept a £26million bid from Hertha Berlin.

 Granit Xhaka is keen to start afresh with the Arsenal fans

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Granit Xhaka is keen to start afresh with the Arsenal fansCredit: Getty Images

But now he has had a change of heart after emerging as one of the most important players in the Mikel Arteta revolution.

Xhaka, 27, was convinced he had played his last game for Arsenal after being stripped of the captain’s armband by former boss Unai Emery in November.

He was left disillusioned by his punishment for ripping his shirt off and telling fans to “f*** off” when they jeered him as he was subbed against Crystal Palace.

And the sick online abuse directed at him and his family in the aftermath of that incident convinced him  he had to leave.


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Even though he returned to the side for what proved to be Emery’s final game in charge, it was not until a series of conversations with new boss Arteta that he started to reconsider things.

Xhaka said: “I think everyone knows that ten weeks ago I was not enjoying my football.

“It was not a good time for me and my family and  there were moments when I thought I would never play for this club again.

“I had a tough time during my first six months at Borussia Moenchengladbach because I wasn’t in the team, but this was something else completely.

“This was not about me as a player, this was about the human.

“But now I hope that people can understand the situation and how I was feeling inside.

“I realise  the fans want the players to perform in every game but they also need to understand that it is not always so easy.

 Xhaka told Arsenal fans to f*** off when they booed him against Crystal Palace

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Xhaka told Arsenal fans to f*** off when they booed him against Crystal PalaceCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

“This is the biggest difference between Germany and England, because here we don’t have the connection with the fans.

“In Germany, we have many open training sessions when the fans can come and talk to you.

“Here, everything is closed and it would be good to be able to explain to people why something is going well or not so well.”

Xhaka, whose  contract  runs to 2023, is proud of the way he has overcome the hostility to underline his value to the team.

He has missed only one game since Arteta took charge on Boxing Day — against Chelsea, which is their only defeat.



Xhaka said: “I think I have shown my character and proved I am not a guy who runs away.

“I told the club, ‘As long as I am here I am always ready to give everything’. I train very hard and that turned things around.

“That has been the key to happiness for me and with the help of Mikel and my team-mates I am enjoying being an Arsenal player again.

“I don’t want to dwell on the past. I want to look forward and I know we can have a big future with Mikel.”

Yet even now he is not sure he needs the aggravation of captaining the team again.

He was clearly reluctant to take the armband when it was handed to him in last month’s 1-1 draw at  Palace after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been sent off and Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette were subbed.

He admitted: “I didn’t want to take the armband back, but Sokratis and David Luiz told me I had to take it.

“If the club were to ask me to be captain again, I’d have to think twice about it.

“But with or without the armband I know what I can give to this team.”

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must prove to Aubameyang he should stay



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