![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/granit-xhaka-opens-up-on-arsenal-exit-and-f-off-blast-after-bayer-leverkusen-switch/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1_Granit-Xhaka-on-Arsenals-performance-against-Newcastle.jpg&description=Following a heated clash with Arsenal fans in 2019, Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy and wanted to leave but he was talked into staying by Mikel Arteta and left the club this summer as a cult hero Granit Xhaka says being booed off the pitch by Arsenal fans in 2019 "gave me even more strength", insisting the incident was a "misunderstanding between the fans and me". Xhaka, who completed a move to Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a fee of around £21.5m, was stripped of the captaincy after reacting angrily to boos from his own fans when he was substituted in a Premier League game against Crystal Palace. The midfielder shouted "f*** off", cupped his ear and removed his shirt as he walked off the pitch while being jeered by the Arsenal fans. At the time, many expected the incident to spell the end of his time at the Emirates, but he was reintegrated by Mikel Arteta and played a key role in their resurgence. Reflecting on the incident in an interview with German publication Blick, Xhaka said: "I was Arsenal captain in 2019. "Then came this story with the fans. I never had any problems with the boys and the club; it was more a misunderstanding between the fans and me. Coming back to Arsenal like that afterwards gave me even more strength. "I was able to show what personality is in me. I don't like talking about myself. But you can also praise yourself if the journalists don't praise you that much. Seriously, you learn from things like that. "You get stronger. At the end I was allowed to leave to great applause. That was my number one goal. Am I a ready leader? I would not say that. I'm sure I'll still make mistakes, that's part of it. But certainly, less than before." Declan Rice has been signed from West Ham as Xhaka's replacement, with the midfielder becoming the most expensive British player in history after the Gunners paid a whopping £105m for his services. "I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they've been going on){kind=link}
Following a heated clash with Arsenal fans in 2019, Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy and wanted to leave but he was talked into staying by Mikel Arteta and left the club this summer as a cult hero
Granit Xhaka says being booed off the pitch by Arsenal fans in 2019 “gave me even more strength”, insisting the incident was a “misunderstanding between the fans and me”.
Xhaka, who completed a move to Bayer Leverkusen this summer for a fee of around £21.5m, was stripped of the captaincy after reacting angrily to boos from his own fans when he was substituted in a Premier League game against Crystal Palace. The midfielder shouted “f*** off”, cupped his ear and removed his shirt as he walked off the pitch while being jeered by the Arsenal fans.
At the time, many expected the incident to spell the end of his time at the Emirates, but he was reintegrated by Mikel Arteta and played a key role in their resurgence. Reflecting on the incident in an interview with German publication Blick, Xhaka said: “I was Arsenal captain in 2019.
“Then came this story with the fans. I never had any problems with the boys and the club; it was more a misunderstanding between the fans and me. Coming back to Arsenal like that afterwards gave me even more strength.