Granit Xhaka was on verge of leaving for Hertha Berlin in January but Mikel Arteta came in and convinced the Swiss to stay at the Emirates. Former Arsenal Captain revealed that ‘very good talks’ with Mikel persuaded him to stay at Arsenal.
Xhaka was out of favor under Unai Emery after his Crystal Palace incident, following which the Swiss was also stripped off captaincy. His reaction to some boo’s was quite condemned and nearly brought his Arsenal career to an premature end.
However, Granit Xhaka has bounced back under Mikel Arteta and has been much better than he ever was under Spainard’s leadership.
“After the change of coach I had some very good talks with our new coach Mikel Arteta,” said the Swiss skipper to SportBild.
“He convinced me of his ideas and his philosophy for the number six position and showed me a lot of appreciation.
“I’m glad that I could pay him back for this trust and I hope for the future that we can still make it into the Champions League and finally play in the international top league again.”
That incident was certainly a low moment for Granit Xhaka and the he has been open about this in the past as well.
Xhaka received extensive criticism for his doings – although aplenty of supporters stood with him when he released his side of the explanations.
But that is history now, and Xhaka will give his all for the club.
“The subject is closed for me. Maybe it was also a misunderstanding, and both sides overreacted a bit.
“The fans can be sure that I always go beyond my limits and give everything for Arsenal.”
The Swiss star definitely looked for a way out from London after being ruthlessly complained aplenty times. Speaking to Blick, his agent Noguera also claimed that Xhaka is eyeing a return to Bundesliga and Hertha Berlin were known to be big admirers.
“Yes, there were talks with Hertha, that’s well known, but for me, it was settled,” Granit added.
“As far as the events at Hertha in recent months are concerned, I can say nothing about that; I am too far away here for that. That is not for me to say.”
