Speaking to BBC Sport, Granit Xhaka has opened up on just how close he came to leaving Arsenal.
To say that Xhaka has been a polarising figure during his time at the Emirates would be an understatement.
The Swiss international has flip-flopped between being a fan favourite and public enemy number one more times than we can count, but one misdemeanour almost led to his departure.
Indeed, Xhaka’s big bust-up with the fans back in October 2019 after being booed almost led to him departing the club, and he even told Mikel Arteta during his first meeting with the Spaniard that he wanted to go.
However, Arteta blocked his departure, and Xhaka remains one of Arsenal’s most important players to this day.
Xhaka wanted to leave
The midfielder shared details of his conversation with Arteta.
“After that 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 said.
“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 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.”
Best decision Arteta has made
Keeping Xhaka when he wanted to go may be the best decision Mikel Arteta has ever made at Arsenal.
Indeed, the midfielder has only gone from strength to strength in north London since this incident, and he’s now the heartbeat of this Arsenal team.
Xhaka’s improvement as of late has been remarkable, and it’s hard to imagine where this team would be without him.
The Gunners are very lucky that Arteta was able to change the midfielder’s mind on this one.
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