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Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has admitted that he was once close to leaving the Gunners.
Following his move from German giants Borussia Monchengladbach, the Swiss midfielder made an underwhelming start to his career at the Emirates. However, he turned it around to become the captain of the north London club.
The lowest point of Xhaka's Gunners career was when he had a bust-up with the Arsenal fans during a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace in October of 2019.
The Swiss skipper has admitted that he told Gunners boss Mikel Arteta during their first meeting that he wanted to leave but the Spaniard did not allow him to do so.
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Xhaka has done well to become a key player for the Gunners once again and has been faultless in the middle of the park this season. He told BBC Sport, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“I had one option, which was to leave because it was too much for me. People that were there supporting me for the first three years, today or tomorrow they were not with you. How I dealt with that? In the moment, I was so strong. I don’t want to go back and feel the same pain I had. But I was very strong."
Xhaka has claimed that he was very close to leaving Arsenal but Arteta convinced him to stay. He explained:
“I was very, very close to leaving. When I say that, it was like I only had to take my stuff and leave the door. Mikel was the guy who stopped me from leaving. I had a good conversation with him, I had never met him before."
"I told him from the first meeting we had, ‘I want to leave’. It was not against him, but the story that happened here, I can’t play again with that shirt.”
Granit Xhaka has been immense for Arsenal this season
The likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka have all received plaudits as Arsenal have made a blistering start to the season. However, Xhaka has been one of the unsung heroes behind the Gunners' exceptional start to the season.
The Swiss international has been immense in the middle of the park for the Gunners. Xhaka already has three goals in 14 appearances across all competitions.
Arteta deserves a lot of credit for convincing Xhaka to stay at Arsenal and get the most out of the midfielder.
