Speaking on his podcast, Peter Crouch has been discussing Granit Xhaka and his recent rebirth as one of Arsenal’s most important and beloved players.
It wasn’t too long ago that Xhaka was public enemy number one at the Emirates after he disrespected the Arsenal shirt and the captain’s armband, being stripped of the captaincy for his actions.
Understandably, fans turned on Xhaka after that point, but somehow, someway, he’s worked himself back into their hearts and is now a key part of Mikel Arteta’s squad once again.
Crouch has named the Swiss midfielder as one of the Premier League’s great comeback stories, stating that it’s very rare to be able to come back from that sort of position.
Xhaka’s comeback
Crouch lauded Xhaka for his recent resurgence.
“I’m thinking of Granit Xhaka. There was no way back there. He threw his shirt and the armband in reaction to the crowd. It’s very rare that you see a home crowd turn on a player like that and them come back from it, and to come back in the manner that he has this season is a credit to him and it shows the strength in his character,” Crouch said.
“To take to the pitch again after that and to get booed and get abuse, to come back from that is a big task, so kudos to Xhaka.”
Almost impossible
Crouch says that it’s very rare to see a player comeback like this, and, in our view, it’s almost impossible.
Just look at how the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have been shunned at Arsenal after stepping out of line. Xhaka could easily have been in line for that type of treatment, but he got his head down and got back on track eventually.
Nowadays, he’s one of Arsenal’s most important players and the fans love him.
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