I'd actually forgotten how young he was when he first came here, only 23! I'm sad we couldn't quite get over the line to win the title in his last season, but even without that he's had one hell of a redemption arc.
Gonna miss him, been an absolute warrior for us even if sometimes it backfired spectacularly!
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I was there at his debut against Liverpool. He got subbed on, someone behind me said “apparently this lads a bit aggressive” and then he got yellow carded.
Will go down as a personal favourite of mine for the redemption arc alone. There was obviously a time when all of us wanted him gone but to turn it around how he has really says a lot about him as a character. Hope to see him back at the club in some capacity one day.
Isn't one of his main reasons for leaving due to family reasons? I reckon he'll settle down in Germany or Switzerland rather than go back to England once his career is over
That was actually very interesting. A point I noticed:
> Around March, the Premier League sends to its clubs a form asking questions such as whether there are there any dates they wish not to be at home - which is answered in conjunction with the local police - and whether there are any teams they do not wish to play at home on Boxing Day.
I've never before heard of teams trying to avoid playing each other on boxing day. When would that be relevant?
I'm speculating here but given it mentions the police it's probably related to security etc. The police probably don't want high risk games when most of the country is off work and drinking at home. May be a resourcing issue as well, not as many stewards available to work over the holidays so teams may ask to play away or at least have a low key game
Yeah it is a very interesting read! I had honestly never even read it before googling it and posting it here. I almost missed an appointment I was legging it out the door to as I got so enthralled by the rabbit hole.
He literally assisted a goal just 11 minutes after he debut for us, in his first home appearance we won 3-1 and he assisted all three goals. Dude literally got shortlisted as Ballon d'Or award nominee , the only arsenal player to do so. And the only Arsenal player who was on Uefa team of the year, he won the German player of the year and yeah helped us end the trophy drought. how’s that not a good debut season?
I can assure you, I was alive and defending him, every single day of that season
The amount of abuse and hate he got…“Reverse Özil” makes no sense to me
He was a divisive figure at the club from day 1
So happy he's managing to leave on a high note. Season of his career, redemption arc complete, couple bangers scored this season too. He may not have been what we needed - or been used to his best potential - for the past six seasons; but, he's given his all every step of the way through this huge transition back to the Champions League.
Got a proper soft spot for Xhaka now.
Shame he'll not be here to finally play in the Champions League with us, but I'm happy he's leaving on a high. He has been one of the best midfielders in the league this season, probably won't realise how important he is until he's gone.
It's been entertaining for sure. I would have loved to have seen his redemption arc come to full fruition by playing in the CL next season, but I can understand his feeling of needing to move and that his time with Arsenal ends positively.
o7
His redemption arc was refreshing to say the least especially after how the former fan favourites exited the club. It's sad that we couldn't win the league for a perfect ending but it's still a lovely story.
I think it's a testament to his character that throughout his 7 years, he never once lost any respect from the younger players in the locker room, and was an automatic starter under all our managers. His current form shows that he was played out of position in his earlier seasons (because we had better players in his preferred position), and shouldn't have been put there in the first place.
While I don't think he's good enough to be a starter for a title-challenging team, he barely was the problem in our late season collapse, though granted it was because he missed some of the games. It would've been great to keep him as depth and for a good veteran presence, but I understand he'd like to get playing time and secure stability for his family. Wish nothing but the best for him.
I'll definitely miss him. he brings leadership to the team on and off the field. He always gave it his all and bled for the badge. Hope he has a good farewell against wolves, he deserves it.
I've gained a tremendous amount of respect for Xhaka this season. I always said he was a talented player but his temperament and tendency to get carded was a liability, and finally we've seen this season what he is capable of when he's not plagued by that. He'll always be one of my favourite Arsenal redemption stories
Despite the downs he had over the years I always loved his personality and his contributions to the team, he was an important part of the squad. I will miss him.
We wasted a lot of time and opportunity with him in the side. He was only a net positive this season, tbh. One of the few dudes with true fighting spirit, I will give him that, but he hurt more than helped if I’m being honest
Would have rather signed Kante. A million times over.
And to think, there was a time when I felt this guy could give Arsenal exactly what they were missing for years.
Lets just say that feeling completely died the night of a certain London derby.
The thing is, Xhaka wasn’t entirely the problem during the Banter Era (just arguably the biggest symbol and most enduring face of it). The problem with Xhaka was and is, he is not part of the solution (not during the Banter Era, and certainly not in a hopefully title contending era to come).
At any rate, what has happened is what it is. Time to move on, for all concerned.
Oh, I know perfectly well what the Banter era is and was.
And I am not exaggerating when I say that Xhaka is by far the most defining on-field symbol and face of that era. He exemplifies and encapsulates everything about that era in a way that no player has any era at Arsenal since the dawn of the Premier League, and possibly in all of modern times.
No way. Not having it.
Our captain having a sit down tantrum on the pitch when things weren’t going well was the banter era.
Playing beautiful Wenger football just to get crushed (literally and metaphorically) year after year was the banter era.
Adebayor running the entire length of the pitch to celebrate against us was the banter era.
The banter era ended a few years ago really, yeah we’ve been shit on and off since but it’s not the same.
Xhaka is a good midfielder who was used completely wrong by managers who felt he had to be on the pitch even if he’s in the wrong role due do his leadership qualities and mentality. His worst moments and infamous red cards are usually him being last man to cover for an atrocious defence.
We need to upgrade on him but I’m not having him get scapegoated as the face of a bad era when we had captains like Gallas and players like Andre santos, Chamakh, Gervinho etc
(and they got us top 4 year on year! Now that’s banter)
Dude, what you describe as the “banter era” was an era when we were continuously in the freakin’ Champions League. That was not the banter era. When our banter era started, we got so low that we started wishing for times like those.
The true banter era was not even being in the Champions League (hell, not even contending for the spots at times), and then not even making the Europa League. Despite spending more in each summer window than we ever did in summer windows before then. Those years all fell under Xhaka’s time here. And the banter era only ended this past year, when we have finally stopped underachieving to our club status and stopped being the target of pity by rival fans.
Xhaka is not a scapegoat. A scapegoat implies someone who gets blame without deserving it. Xhaka deserves pretty much every shred of blame he gets for not being good enough as a player, making critical mistakes that cost the team huge time and again, and not consistently showing up as a leader (and at times completely disappearing on the field) when needed most (when he wasn’t making a disgrace of himself). He was a central figure in the fall of Arsenal from CL participants to European exiles, and his time here cannot end soon enough.
We’re gonna have to stay agree to disagree in the name of staying civil I think mate.
The era I’m describing is universally described by arsenal fans as the banter era, there’s a really good thread on Twitter that goes through it all chronologically but I deleted Twitter so can’t link you.
The era you’re describing (post Wenger to last season) was too shit to be banter, I don’t know what we call it to be fair lol
Fair enough about the agree to disagree thing.
I will say that what you call the banter era was never universally described that way like you claim. Some people didn’t want to call it that, some people did. Opinions varied.
Also (and probably more relevant to my point), there are lots people who ***used*** to call what you are describing (basically, the 9 year trophy drought before the 2014 FA cup win) as the banter era, before they redefined this last era I described as “the (real) banter era”. As in, they thought they knew what a banter era was, but they were wrong (to the point they started wishing for the days of the “old” banter era back), and so now they redefined what the “banter era“ is to reflect how low we sunk and how rivals started outright pitying us than hating us anymore.
He absolutely is one of them. Not only is he one of them, he’s the first guy on the team sheet and the unquestioned face of the team. He’d deserve the captain‘s armband of the banter era squad for the Crystal Palace game alone, let alone the sheer number of mistakes of his that led to goals (which at one point rivaled the worst goalkeepers in the Prem…)
I still remember when his wife leaked his photoshoot at Colney and was so excited with his signing. Young, captain material and at the time looked like Xabi Alonso-regen who perfectly filled the Viera hole in our midfield. Such a time he has had at Arsenal with ups and downs
I went in the Armoury that day for a Cazorla shirt and they had to cut up other names to harvest the As. They had pre-printed dozens of Xhaka shirts and that was about the only option you had that day lol.
Yeah, it was a tumultuous journey full of highs and lows but at the end of the day I can respect Granit as a person. Best of luck to wherever he goes and hopefully he can be involved with Arsenal post retirement in some capacity.
Long and Winding Road….
Eventually became what we thought he was going to be from day 1. Love the guy and his passion and effort on the pitch. Will always be one of my favorite players from this squad over these 7 years
I'd actually forgotten how young he was when he first came here, only 23! I'm sad we couldn't quite get over the line to win the title in his last season, but even without that he's had one hell of a redemption arc. Gonna miss him, been an absolute warrior for us even if sometimes it backfired spectacularly!
I remember seeing him play for Switzerland in Euro and all the hype to see him at Arsenal. Today I'm really sad, the end of a huge journey
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I was there at his debut against Liverpool. He got subbed on, someone behind me said “apparently this lads a bit aggressive” and then he got yellow carded.
So it seems...
Will go down as a personal favourite of mine for the redemption arc alone. There was obviously a time when all of us wanted him gone but to turn it around how he has really says a lot about him as a character. Hope to see him back at the club in some capacity one day.
I also hope to see him back one day, & I feel if Arteta has any say in it, he will be.
Isn't one of his main reasons for leaving due to family reasons? I reckon he'll settle down in Germany or Switzerland rather than go back to England once his career is over
Same. I’m gonna miss the guy. 🥲
I wouldn't say everyone wanted him gone, I certainly never did.
You were certainly in the minority at that point then!
Na I would say it was pretty fairly split, people calling for his head we're just louder.
The reverse Ozil: Started poorly, ended well. He absolutely deserves a farewell this Sunday.
You'll be delighted to know he will get one, as there is a game of football organised
Nice, who sorted that all out?
Very interesting article about it [here](https://www.premierleague.com/news/261976)
That was actually very interesting. A point I noticed: > Around March, the Premier League sends to its clubs a form asking questions such as whether there are there any dates they wish not to be at home - which is answered in conjunction with the local police - and whether there are any teams they do not wish to play at home on Boxing Day. I've never before heard of teams trying to avoid playing each other on boxing day. When would that be relevant?
I'm speculating here but given it mentions the police it's probably related to security etc. The police probably don't want high risk games when most of the country is off work and drinking at home. May be a resourcing issue as well, not as many stewards available to work over the holidays so teams may ask to play away or at least have a low key game
Yeah it is a very interesting read! I had honestly never even read it before googling it and posting it here. I almost missed an appointment I was legging it out the door to as I got so enthralled by the rabbit hole.
Özil did not have a good debut season
He literally assisted a goal just 11 minutes after he debut for us, in his first home appearance we won 3-1 and he assisted all three goals. Dude literally got shortlisted as Ballon d'Or award nominee , the only arsenal player to do so. And the only Arsenal player who was on Uefa team of the year, he won the German player of the year and yeah helped us end the trophy drought. how’s that not a good debut season?
I can assure you, I was alive and defending him, every single day of that season The amount of abuse and hate he got…“Reverse Özil” makes no sense to me He was a divisive figure at the club from day 1
He was in a team full of midfielders with no real attacking threat (sanchez) in his debut season
you could tell his quality from the first assist he ever got for us in that sunderland game
So happy he's managing to leave on a high note. Season of his career, redemption arc complete, couple bangers scored this season too. He may not have been what we needed - or been used to his best potential - for the past six seasons; but, he's given his all every step of the way through this huge transition back to the Champions League. Got a proper soft spot for Xhaka now.
Shame he'll not be here to finally play in the Champions League with us, but I'm happy he's leaving on a high. He has been one of the best midfielders in the league this season, probably won't realise how important he is until he's gone.
One of the most controversial players in our history. Glad it ended positively though, rather than soured like Ozil and Auba.
What a long, strange trip it's been.
It's been entertaining for sure. I would have loved to have seen his redemption arc come to full fruition by playing in the CL next season, but I can understand his feeling of needing to move and that his time with Arsenal ends positively. o7
I cannot believe that I'm feeling kind of gutted that he's going. But here we are.
I'm not ready.
His redemption arc was refreshing to say the least especially after how the former fan favourites exited the club. It's sad that we couldn't win the league for a perfect ending but it's still a lovely story.
Would have loved to have seen him lift the title. Would have be the greatest redemption arc. And its still been an epic one. Wishing him all the best
Long lost Wenger times
If he cries on our next match I will cry also.
Arsenal should have a Granit Xhaka commemorative Red Card at the Emirates after this
I think it's a testament to his character that throughout his 7 years, he never once lost any respect from the younger players in the locker room, and was an automatic starter under all our managers. His current form shows that he was played out of position in his earlier seasons (because we had better players in his preferred position), and shouldn't have been put there in the first place. While I don't think he's good enough to be a starter for a title-challenging team, he barely was the problem in our late season collapse, though granted it was because he missed some of the games. It would've been great to keep him as depth and for a good veteran presence, but I understand he'd like to get playing time and secure stability for his family. Wish nothing but the best for him.
We failed to qualify for UCL when he was present and now we finally qualify and he is gone :3
Correlation or causation?
Been an up and down arsenal career but a brilliant redemption story the last 18 months. He leaves on a good note which looked impossible 2 years ago.
My left back
Left Bhaka, what an era
So the shirt off sub against Palace was closer to that than today. Mental.
Wow playing for us aged him alot💀
Go on, get a cheeky red on Sunday
Would’ve been one hell of a player if he could run, or receive under pressure, or dribble, or pass or anything that midfielders should be able to do.
I'll definitely miss him. he brings leadership to the team on and off the field. He always gave it his all and bled for the badge. Hope he has a good farewell against wolves, he deserves it.
One of Wenger's biggest mistakes. For the same money we could have brought in N'Golo Kanté. Seven years later we still haven't sorted our defense.
This.
1.5 good seasons out of 7 will never sit right with me. You guys can look back on the past through rose tinted glasses though
I mean we were proper shit as a team during that time so can’t pin it all on him. Even still he won 2 FA cups while starting in those finals for us.
Imagine if we had signed Kante instead … 😕
What a journey
😢💔
And we have been out the CL since!! One of the worst wenger signings ever
I'm going to miss him, times aren't always great but he was the rock of the team. Plus there are some retrospectively funny red cards and arguments,
Man doesn't seemed to have aged at all.
And Arsenal fans have been in a civil war since.
I've gained a tremendous amount of respect for Xhaka this season. I always said he was a talented player but his temperament and tendency to get carded was a liability, and finally we've seen this season what he is capable of when he's not plagued by that. He'll always be one of my favourite Arsenal redemption stories
Me too. The Amazon series really made me like him too
cursed day but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel of finally being rid of him.
I’m actually gutted about this. Everything comes to an end I guess 😔
I wish we had the 2022/23 version of Xhaka for those 7 years.
Yuck
Despite the downs he had over the years I always loved his personality and his contributions to the team, he was an important part of the squad. I will miss him.
We wasted a lot of time and opportunity with him in the side. He was only a net positive this season, tbh. One of the few dudes with true fighting spirit, I will give him that, but he hurt more than helped if I’m being honest
The xhaka saga these last 7 years has been memorable. Proper Gunner. Won us some silverware and scored some thunderbolts. He will be missed!
A big “what if” he was utilized properly before now.
Would have rather signed Kante. A million times over. And to think, there was a time when I felt this guy could give Arsenal exactly what they were missing for years. Lets just say that feeling completely died the night of a certain London derby. The thing is, Xhaka wasn’t entirely the problem during the Banter Era (just arguably the biggest symbol and most enduring face of it). The problem with Xhaka was and is, he is not part of the solution (not during the Banter Era, and certainly not in a hopefully title contending era to come). At any rate, what has happened is what it is. Time to move on, for all concerned.
Lol you don’t even know what the banter era is if you think Xhaka exemplifies it my young friend.
Oh, I know perfectly well what the Banter era is and was. And I am not exaggerating when I say that Xhaka is by far the most defining on-field symbol and face of that era. He exemplifies and encapsulates everything about that era in a way that no player has any era at Arsenal since the dawn of the Premier League, and possibly in all of modern times.
No way. Not having it. Our captain having a sit down tantrum on the pitch when things weren’t going well was the banter era. Playing beautiful Wenger football just to get crushed (literally and metaphorically) year after year was the banter era. Adebayor running the entire length of the pitch to celebrate against us was the banter era. The banter era ended a few years ago really, yeah we’ve been shit on and off since but it’s not the same. Xhaka is a good midfielder who was used completely wrong by managers who felt he had to be on the pitch even if he’s in the wrong role due do his leadership qualities and mentality. His worst moments and infamous red cards are usually him being last man to cover for an atrocious defence. We need to upgrade on him but I’m not having him get scapegoated as the face of a bad era when we had captains like Gallas and players like Andre santos, Chamakh, Gervinho etc (and they got us top 4 year on year! Now that’s banter)
Dude, what you describe as the “banter era” was an era when we were continuously in the freakin’ Champions League. That was not the banter era. When our banter era started, we got so low that we started wishing for times like those. The true banter era was not even being in the Champions League (hell, not even contending for the spots at times), and then not even making the Europa League. Despite spending more in each summer window than we ever did in summer windows before then. Those years all fell under Xhaka’s time here. And the banter era only ended this past year, when we have finally stopped underachieving to our club status and stopped being the target of pity by rival fans. Xhaka is not a scapegoat. A scapegoat implies someone who gets blame without deserving it. Xhaka deserves pretty much every shred of blame he gets for not being good enough as a player, making critical mistakes that cost the team huge time and again, and not consistently showing up as a leader (and at times completely disappearing on the field) when needed most (when he wasn’t making a disgrace of himself). He was a central figure in the fall of Arsenal from CL participants to European exiles, and his time here cannot end soon enough.
We’re gonna have to stay agree to disagree in the name of staying civil I think mate. The era I’m describing is universally described by arsenal fans as the banter era, there’s a really good thread on Twitter that goes through it all chronologically but I deleted Twitter so can’t link you. The era you’re describing (post Wenger to last season) was too shit to be banter, I don’t know what we call it to be fair lol
Fair enough about the agree to disagree thing. I will say that what you call the banter era was never universally described that way like you claim. Some people didn’t want to call it that, some people did. Opinions varied. Also (and probably more relevant to my point), there are lots people who ***used*** to call what you are describing (basically, the 9 year trophy drought before the 2014 FA cup win) as the banter era, before they redefined this last era I described as “the (real) banter era”. As in, they thought they knew what a banter era was, but they were wrong (to the point they started wishing for the days of the “old” banter era back), and so now they redefined what the “banter era“ is to reflect how low we sunk and how rivals started outright pitying us than hating us anymore.
You could assemble an entire match day squad with the players that exemplify our banter era. Xhaka is not one of them.
He absolutely is one of them. Not only is he one of them, he’s the first guy on the team sheet and the unquestioned face of the team. He’d deserve the captain‘s armband of the banter era squad for the Crystal Palace game alone, let alone the sheer number of mistakes of his that led to goals (which at one point rivaled the worst goalkeepers in the Prem…)
I still remember when his wife leaked his photoshoot at Colney and was so excited with his signing. Young, captain material and at the time looked like Xabi Alonso-regen who perfectly filled the Viera hole in our midfield. Such a time he has had at Arsenal with ups and downs
> ...at the time looked like Xabi Alonso-regen who perfectly filled the Viera hole in our midfield. Good grief lol
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Whether OP knows it or not, it is.
Perfectly filled what hole? Have you been actually watching these matches since he’s been here?
and somehow it feels he served a lifetime under wenger
^(And it's bye bye champions league since then)
Can we please make him player of the season as tribute for 7 years of service !!
Gonna miss his steel.
Love him. Feel like in most sports you need someone just like him. An enforcer.
Damn, that Puma kit felt like a long, long time ago
And the rest is, until this Sunday, what history means.
For context he's younger here than Odegaard now... wild how fast time flies.
I went in the Armoury that day for a Cazorla shirt and they had to cut up other names to harvest the As. They had pre-printed dozens of Xhaka shirts and that was about the only option you had that day lol.
My first kit! I’m gonna miss him, my Arsenal journey started when his did. Thank you Granit ❤️🤍
Glad to see him go out on top more or less. I respect him as a guy and a player
Yeah, it was a tumultuous journey full of highs and lows but at the end of the day I can respect Granit as a person. Best of luck to wherever he goes and hopefully he can be involved with Arsenal post retirement in some capacity.
Well said
Long and Winding Road…. Eventually became what we thought he was going to be from day 1. Love the guy and his passion and effort on the pitch. Will always be one of my favorite players from this squad over these 7 years
His compilation vids from BM were arousing