Granit Xhaka discusses Arsenal exit and "f*** off" blast after Leverkusen switch
Granit Xhaka says being booed off the pitch by Arsenal fans in 2019 "gave me even more strength", insisting the incident was a "misunderstanding between the fans and me".
Xhaka, who completed a move to Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a fee of around £21.5m, was stripped of the captaincy after reacting angrily to boos from his own fans when he was substituted in a Premier League game against Crystal Palace. The midfielder shouted "f*** off", cupped his ear and removed his shirt as he walked off the pitch while being jeered by the Arsenal fans.
At the time, many expected the incident to spell the end of his time at the Emirates, but he was reintegrated by Mikel Arteta and played a key role in their resurgence. Reflecting on the incident in an interview with German publication Blick, Xhaka said: "I was Arsenal captain in 2019.
"Then came this story with the fans. I never had any problems with the boys and the club; it was more a misunderstanding between the fans and me. Coming back to Arsenal like that afterwards gave me even more strength.
"I was able to show what personality is in me. I don't like talking about myself. But you can also praise yourself if the journalists don’t praise you that much. Seriously, you learn from things like that.
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"You get stronger. At the end I was allowed to leave to great applause. That was my number one goal. Am I a ready leader? I would not say that. I'm sure I'll still make mistakes, that's part of it. But certainly, less than before."
Declan Rice has been signed from West Ham as Xhaka's replacement, with the midfielder becoming the most expensive British player in history after the Gunners paid a whopping £105m for his services. "I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they've been going on," Rice told Arsenal's website.
Xhaka wanted to leave after the incident, but was persuaded to stay by Mikel Arteta (AP)"Not last season but the season before, they finished fifth but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing. Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Man City.
"I'm so excited [to work with Arteta] - he speaks for himself. You see how he works - you got a real insight into how he works on the Amazon documentary, how he works with his players and not only as a coach, but psychologically how good he is with players, how he improves players. He's a massive factor in the reason why I’ve come here.
"I know he's going to get the best out of me. I know I've got more levels to go up in my game, and I feel like he's the manager to take me to those next levels. I'm really excited to be working with him."
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