Swiss international midfielder Granit Xhaka, 30, is part of Arsenal’s Premier League coach, coached by Spaniard Mikel Arteta and scored the Gunners’ 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) that guaranteed the English team’s entry in a knockout. the UEFA Europa League stage, left, on the success he now enjoys after being disliked by the Londoners, advice that could have served CR7 and a difficult moment of his United man career.
“In football, everything doesn’t always go up: sometimes you have to go down, fall,” the Swiss, who three years ago (November 2019) lost the Arsenal captaincy, a status he received with another coach, admitted to the BBC. , a Spaniard, then at Unai Emery’s club (now at Villarreal), and was booed by Gunners fans after a poor draw in the London derby against Crystal Palace.
Xhaka’s gestures and profanity towards Gunners fans received such media coverage and repercussions for his career that Granit was forced to publicly apologize via his social media accounts. And he has been one foot outside of Arsenal, where he has been since 2016.
Xhaka has regained the joy of playing and a protagonist typical of a man who has already made 102 caps (12 goals) for the Swiss national team with Spanish coach Mikel Arteta: after his descent into “hell” in 2019, he now knows success in the Premier League leader League without forgetting the role of the coach in rehabilitation.
After a good performance with Seferovic and teammates at Euro 2020 (played in the summer of 2021, remember), Xhaka is now “undeniably” back at the Gunners, forming a working pair in an Arteta-designed intermediate with Thomas Partey. , and this is a treasure that can be seen at the World Cup in Qatar.
“In fact, in 2019 I was very, very close to quitting. [do Arsenal]. And attention: when I say this, I mean the simplicity when I pack my bag and walk out the door. Mikel [Arteta] was the one who stopped me from leaving. Nuna had seen him before, but we had a good talk. And I immediately, in the first hour, told him that I wanted to leave Arsenal. Not for him, but for the convulsions and everything that happened. I didn’t think I had the conditions to wear an Arsenal shirt again,” Xhaka told BBC Sport, recalling taking off his shirt in that London derby, which pissed off fans even more.
“However, I had hope that Mikel [Arteta], with his team and ideas, can change things. And I prepared myself for this. I’m not here because my father is a coach and poor man if he doesn’t always choose eleven to play with his son! I stayed because I think I have the qualities to be a good player in this club too! I wanted and want to give something in return. That’s why I say that football is not only about climbing, sometimes you also need to go down in order to return to the top one day, ”said Xhaka.
Xhaka admits that after a tense relationship with supporters, he has had to be more modest and less pretentious. “Of course, after the fans in the stands booed him harshly and ugly, he had only one option: to leave the club. It was too much for me! Who helped me in my first three years at the club [2016 a 2019] no longer in the club. How did I deal with what happened? At that time I was very strong. I had to. I didn’t want to come back and feel the same pain as me. But I was very strong,” said Granit Xhaka.
A good game against Brentford already this month (Premier League) was worth the forgiveness of the “sins” with the fans, when the Emirates stands chanted the name of the Swiss, which touched Xhaka, also worthy of Arteta’s praise.
“Currently [Xhaka] feels that love and respect work both ways. Having the cheerleaders sing his name makes him play even better and I’m happy because he deserves it. How to explain it? Consistency, everyday behavior, what he has learned in his career, and the will to improve, the desire to look forward, “- this is the Spaniard’s recipe for success, explaining Xhaka’s phenomenal “recovery”.
“When you do that, you put in the effort, good things usually happen,” Arteta said of one of England’s standouts: three goals and three assists in 14 games played for the Gunners this season, regaining the captain’s armband. team, in the absence of Martin Odegaard, and licking the “wounds”.
