Xhaka, an Arsenal midfielder, acknowledges that following a confrontation with his fans at Emirates Stadium three years ago, he entered a “dark place” and almost left the team.
The newly chosen Arsenal captain was replaced by the then-manager Unai Emery during a 2-2 Premier League tie with Crystal Palace in October 2019 amid jeers from his supporters.
After yelling at some fans and waving and cupping his ear mockingly in response, Xhaka removed his shirt and walked straight down the tunnel.
“I wish nobody would be in the situation where I have been,” Xhaka said after helping Arsenal defeat PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in the Europa League. Xhaka has been in excellent form this year.
“It was the most challenging time for my family and myself,” he added.
The incident cost him his position as captain and put the Swiss international on the verge of quitting the team.
With Xhaka emerging as a crucial member of Mikel Arteta’s team, who are currently top of the Premier League with a quarter of the season remaining and are now sure to go past the group stage in the Europa League, this season has marked an astonishing reversal in. his fortunes.
The 30-year-old Xhaka admitted to Football Focus: “I was very, very close [to leaving Arsenal].” By very, very near, he meant that all he had to do was gather the necessary items from this location and walk out the door.
“In this moment, you don’t see anybody near you. This is the biggest problem. You are sitting in a dark place, feeling alone.
“You know you have people around, but you have no chance to touch them – and this is how I felt.
“You try not to go so deep and to see the message what they [internet trolls] are writing, what the people are speaking in front of the TV, but you can’t ignore [it].
“If you ask me to go back and to think about it, I don’t want to because I don’t want to go back and to feel the same pain I had, but I was very, very strong, with the family, with the people around and we are sitting here now in a different story.” Xhaka said.
The appointment of Arteta as a manager in December 2019 turned out to be crucial, as the Spaniard persuaded Xhaka to remain.
“I didn’t know Mikel before, but I told him right away that I wanted to leave,” he continued. Nothing against him, but because of what happened here, I’m not allowed to play with that shirt again.
He is really straight and honest. This describes me as well. I don’t like it when folks talk in front of you while engaging in conversational games behind you.
“I felt the time was right to say “yes I will stay” because he knows exactly what he wants from me and where the process will lead.”
With nine victories from the first ten league games this season, Xhaka has been at the top of his game for a club that is only improving.
“I prepared myself far more than before throughout the summer, and I feel great,” he remarked.
“Compared to when I arrived in 2016, the team has changed and is significantly younger. Our players were much more seasoned and had already won numerous trophies, so there may be much more hunger now than there was previously.”
“We always had quality on the team, but I don’t think we had the mentality to say, ‘Hey, it doesn’t matter if you lose one game, you win the next one,” said Xhaka.
Regardless of the trophy it is, this club must compete for it.In