Ex-Arsenal star reveals club showed him ‘little respect’ before ‘convincing’ Arteta forced transfer U-turn

Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has praised Mikel Arteta after the Spanish head coach “convinced” him to remain at the club after he took over.

Xhaka endured a rollercoaster journey at Arsenal before leaving to join Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen during this year’s summer transfer window.

The Switzerland international butted heads with Arsenal supporters on a couple of occasions before he was stripped of the captain’s armband in November 2019.

Xhaka was expecting to leave the Gunners during the 2020 winter transfer window but he ended up being re-introduced by Arteta shortly after his arrival in December 2019.

The 31-year-old is perhaps the player who benefitted most from Arteta being appointed as he shone for the North London outfit before leaving for around £21m in the summer.

Xhaka has now revealed that his “bags were already packed” ahead of January 2020 before he had a talk with Arteta.

“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,” Xhaka admitted in an interview with The Athletic.

“When I met him for the first time, my bags were already packed and I was about to hop on a plane. With my heart and soul, I had already left the club. I said to him, ‘The solution is for me to go’. Mikel told me he wanted me to stay.

“[…] 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.”

FEATURE: Everton huge climbers in latest PL mood rankings, but not even Anfield housery can save Man United

Regarding Xhaka’s replacement, Alan Shearer has argued that £105m star Declan Rice is the “stand-out signing from the summer”.

“It is clear the Gunners have improved from last season, when they pushed City close until the final few games, and it is Declan Rice who has made the biggest difference,” Shearer told BBC Sport.

“I would go as far as saying he has been the stand-out signing from the summer, and the £100m he cost from West Ham looks like money well spent. Rice has made the Gunners more solid and also gives them an extra little bit of bite in midfield, but everything he does on the ball is top class as well.

“Arsenal haven’t been quite as exciting as they were last year going forward but, along with Liverpool, they have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League so far and I think they will be delighted with the progress they have made.”