Granit Xhaka found the Arsenal fans in good spirits as his Bayer Leverkusen side arrived the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
That was to be expected.
The Switzerland international and The Gunners fanbase had endured something of a complicated relationship over the years – there was a time when he was greeted with a very different response while storming off the pitch in a flurry of expletives – but there exists a mutual admiration on both sides of the coin these days.
Granit Xhaka, of course, would bounce back from a flashpoint which would have been a death march for most careers.
When leaving Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, he departed on the back of his finest career in that famous red and white shirt.
Unfortunately for Xhaka, the nature of Leverkusen’s error-strewn performance tempered his own mood as his return to North London after 12 months away ended in a 4-1 butchering.
Arsenal hammer Granit Xhaka’s Bayer Leverkusen
“I was happy to be back here. It was very emotional. It was definitely fun,” Xhaka told Kicker. “The result was not the priority today, but the performance.
“But it wasn’t optimal against a very good opponent.”
You can say that again.
The Bundesliga champions found themselves 2-0 down in the blink of an eye.
Via two Kai Havertz assists – the former Leverkusen ace continuing his fine pre season form against his old employers – Oleksandr Zinchenko lashed in an opener mere seconds before Leandro Trossard waltzed in a second.
Second-half strikes from Gabriel Jesus and Havertz himself killed the game as a contest before the one-time Arsenal target Adam Hlozek pulled one back with a sublime chip.
Leverkusen famously lost only one of their 53 games across 2023/24. That came in the Europa League final against Atalanta as Ademola Lookman entered the history books with a remarkable hat-trick.
Xabi Alonso’s side found themselves in rarified territory as Arsenal racked up the goals, then. Though Xhaka is determined to see the positives, feeling that Leverkusen can actually benefit from tasting the bitterness of defeat every now and then.
“You learn from games like that, especially when you lose,” the 31-year-old adds. “And I think we can take a lot of things with us. A lot of things that were good, but also some that weren’t so good.
“It’s a day that will definitely hurt. Definitely. But thank God it wasn’t about points. It was just a friendly match.
“We will definitely learn from our mistakes.”
Xabi Alonso backs Mikel Arteta in Premier League challenge
Arsenal kick off the new Premier League season against Wolverhampton Wanderers next weekend. After finishing agonisingly short of Manchester City in each of the last two campaigns, Arteta is desperate to go one step further this term.
Former Liverpool playmaker Alonso certainly isn’t ruling Arsenal out. He puts The Gunners amongst the three genuine title contenders for 2024/25.
“First, talking about the game, it wasn’t a good performance from our side,” Alonso tells Hayters TV.
“For sure, it’s going to be wake-up call. This is a new season and we are starting from zero. The standards were way below our normal level. If we don’t raise our standards in games of this level it’s going to be impossible.
“Arsenal, for sure, it’s not just last year, they have been creating a project. Mikel is leading a great team at a great club. They are going to be challenging with the big ones for sure.
“City will be there, Liverpool are coming with other ones as well.”
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