"Thanks for giving me the second chance, I was very close to leaving" - Arsenal star credited Arteta

Arsenal football club of England and Switzerland star Granit Xhaka has appreciated the Gunners coach Mikel Arteta for giving him another chance to prove himself with the London club, after he was removed as the club's captain, because of the clash with the Gunners supporters.






The Midfielder disclosed that he was very, very close to leaving the club last year after being booed by Arsenal fans after being subbed off against Crystal Palace in the early 2019/2020 season.


Xhaka's decision to reply the angry fans made the Gunners to drop him for five matches, and he was unsettled with the club, but after that time he has won back his spot, as he becomes a regular starter in Mikel Arteta led team.






The Switzerland star decided to remain with the London based club after Arteta promised him of playing time, and let him know how important he is to the club, and he has been doing pretty well since then.






In a chat with BT Sport via Mail Online about how he felt with the club after the fallout with the fans last year, Xhaka said;

"Everyone knows what happened with me and the fans or the fans with me. It was not a good time. It was not a nice time. But maybe it was the key because I came back stronger than ever so I learned a lot from this situation. I hope the fans have too. I was always saying to myself, but to the fans too, I am a guy that will go 100 per cent each game. The people start to understand me more and more now again."






The 27 years old continued by saying he was very close to leaving until Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay, because he was already down because he didn't expect the fans to behave to him that way.

"I have to be honest, I’m very honest with everyone. I was very, very close to leaving the club. I have, until this moment, I had a great, great time in this football club. But after this, I was of course a bit down because I did not expect that from the people from the fans. It was never in my mind to leave the club before, but after this happened, of course you think about it."






The Midfielder was Arsenal captain prior to the clash with the fans, but since the clash with the Gunners supporters last year October, the Switzerland international has dropped the captain band and the club has been captained by Gabonese star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang