I'll Think Twice Before Captaining Arsenal Again - Xhaka

 

Arsenal midfielder, Granit Xhaka, has revealed he was very close to leaving the club in January and also admitted he wouldn't be too quick to take the captain's armband again if offered the chance.

Xhaka was named Arsenal's new permanent captain following the departure of Laurent Koscielny in the summer transfer window by Unai Emery following a now-infamous vote by the squad. 

The Switzerland international would only last a couple of months in the role, however, with a frosty relationship with the fans reaching a grave end in a match against Crystal Palace where he yelled at the fans to 'f*ck off' as he trudged down the pitch and into the tunnel after being substituted to loud boos.

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The 27-year-old was stripped of the captaincy a few days later, and Emery proceeded to leave him out of the squad until he was relieved of his managerial duties towards the end of December.

Mikel Arteta, the man tasked with restoring Arsenal back to its glory days has created a more alluring atmosphere in the dressing room but Xhaka has distanced himself from another spell with the armband in the future.

“I know with or without the armband what I can give the team,” he told the Evening Standard. 

“But at this moment [against Palace] I don’t want to take the armband back, but Sokratis [Papastathopoulos] and David [Luiz] told me I have to take it.

"If one day the club asks me about the armband, I have to think twice.”

When asked if he considered leaving the Emirates during the last transfer window, Xhaka responded: “Of course, I don’t lie. There was a moment because it was not easy for me and my family. I hope people understand this.

“But I think I showed my character. I am not a guy who runs away. I always say to the club, ‘When I [am] here, I am ready to give everything’. It was like this always. I train very hard and that things turned around is the key. This [has given me] the most happiness.”

Xhaka, who joined Arsenal from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016, went on to discuss the difference between the Premier League and the Bundesliga in terms of how players are able to interact with supporters.