Were Arsenal fans too harsh on Granit Xhaka?

Granit Xhaka

Were Arsenal fans too harsh on Granit Xhaka?

By Jonny Bray

Granit Xhaka has vowed to stay at Arsenal until he achieves something special, hitting back at legions of Gunners fans who don’t rate the Swiss international. 

The tough tackling midfielder has made 181 Premier League appearances since joining the club in 2016 but has never truly endeared himself to the Arsenal faithful. 

And that culminated back in October 2019 when he was hit with audible booing as he walked off the pitch. 

Xhaka responded by making several sarcastic gestures and, twice, angrily swearing at the fans who jeered his name. 

What did he say? 

The midfielder has spoken passionately about how the experience impacted his opinion of Arsenal fans.

Xhaka said: "I was shocked. I had never experienced anything like this," he added. "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. 

"That day, I felt very disrespected. The comments were over the line. It felt personal.

"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.

"Today I know I made the right decision, absolutely, because I'm still here. But I can't pretend that my relationship with the fans will ever be the same, because that moment will always be in my heart.

"It's like broken glass, you know? You can piece it together, but the cracks will always be there."

Were fans too harsh? 

Xhaka is clearly still hurt by the incident. 

To be fair to the Swiss star, it must have been tough to see his own fans booing him, but he had put in an appalling performance that day. 

Having gone 2-0 up against Crystal Palace, the Gunners capitulated and conceded two goals in 20 minutes before barely scraping a draw. 

Xhaka, who was already struggling for consistency, had one of his worst days in an Arsenal shirt and bore the brunt of the fans’ anger, which boiled over in a very public manner.

Football is a pantomime, and in the moment, supporters are entitled to boo a player they do not believe is up to standard. 

That does not mean they can cross the line and make it personal, but Xhaka was wrong to react. 

This only made the booing worse while making it harder to reintegrate into the squad. 

Conclusion 

To be honest, most Arsenal fans will be wishing Xhaka had left this incident in the past. 

It was nearly three years ago now, the club has moved on and is looking to usher in a new era. 

But instead, we have to listen to Xhaka air dirty laundry. 

If the ex-captain is that upset about what happened back in 2019, most supporters would say he is more than welcome to leave the club. 

In fact, he had every opportunity to leave last summer but chose instead to stay at the Emirates.

Performances have been good from him in recent weeks, but on that day against Palace, the fans were not overly harsh.


photo credit: Getty Images

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