Granit Xhaka's comments about Mikel Arteta after leaving Arsenal speak volumes

Arsenal face Sunderland in the Premier League this weekend, with Granit Xhaka set to be a big talking point despite his injury

Now a fan favourite at Sunderland, Granit Xhaka was once a mainstay in the Arsenal midfield, with the two clubs set to lock horns in the Premier League this weekend.

Arsenal have been outstanding this season and appear increasingly well placed to claim their first championship in more than two decades. Xhaka played a part in that resurgence having featured from the north Londoners from 2016 until 2023, with his last season at the club being the first time the Gunners finished second in the league under Mikel Arteta.

They subsequently did so in the following two seasons as well, although they are now odds on to end that run this campaign. Xhaka, meanwhile, returned to the Premier League at the start of the season with Sunderland, having left Arsenal to join Bayer Leverkusen in 2023.

He's already featured against his old side once, back in November, but it's been confirmed he'll be absent this time around. While the Switzerland international might not be involved at the Emirates, his shadow looms large over the fixture as a man who has played for both clubs. Xhaka began his life at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger before transitioning to Unai Emery and finally Arteta.

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Speaking last year, Xhaka only had positive things to say about the Spaniard. "I will never forget the first day Mikel came in," Xhaka told the Athletic.

"At the training ground, we had a big room and there were some chairs in there, but the chairs were everywhere - chaos.

"He took all the people who were working in the building into this room and said: 'Guys, from the outside, you look like this. Chaos'. So everyone takes a chair and puts it in the right place and he says: 'I want you to be like this every day'.

"You think 'wow', he's started already with these standards - the first day. After that, he was building our mentality, standards in training, pre-training, activation, recovery.

"He brought people in who did a great job. It was unbelievable to work with him because he saw football in a different way."

While Xhaka had complimentary remarks about Arteta, his spell at Arsenal wasn't entirely plain sailing. In 2019, he had a confrontation with supporters following a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and nearly departed the club.

He seemingly directed expletives towards the Arsenal faithful when jeered off after being substituted and was consequently relieved of his captaincy by Emery. It appeared certain that he would be making his way through the Emirates exit door – until Arteta's arrival.

Discussing his near-departure, Xhaka continued: "When Mikel came, he had a very open conversation with myself. My luggage was already done (packed). I was ready to leave. I already had a contract on the table from another football club.

"Mikel had two conversations with me and he convinced me to stay, to give me another chance. He wanted to show me that I am in the right place. From this day, I just had the feeling that every word he told me in this first conversation, everything was exactly like he said. That's why I say that in 2019, when Mikel came, he changed me completely - as a human being, on the pitch, outside the pitch."

Reflecting on the Palace incident, he said: "I had barely begun to move when I heard the boos. And it was not just a few guys in the corner - it was a lot of people. I was shocked. I had never experienced anything like this. When I got close to the tunnel, I looked up at the fans sitting there - and this is the part that I will always remember.

"When I close my eyes now, I can still see their faces. I can see their anger. It's not that they don't like me. No, it's different. This is hate. Pure hate. I am really not exaggerating this. To feel that level of hatred and disrespect, I wouldn't want it for my worst enemy. Still to this day, if we have lost, I hate walking those last metres to the tunnel, because I still recognise the faces. The same people are sitting there. So now, I just keep my head down. I lived through that nightmare once. I don't ever want to do it again."

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