Xhaka: Arsenal wanted rid of me, with one exception - Mikel Arteta

Granit Xhaka says only one person at Arsenal believed in him when it looked odds-on he was ready to quit the north London club - manager Mikel Arteta.

The 31-year-old Swiss midfielder has enjoyed a flying start to life at Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, top of the Bundesliga and without a loss in their opening 24 matches this season.

But in an interview with The Athletic, Xhaka says that his departure from the Gunners would have been a lot more rancorous had it come earlier and without the intervention of Arteta.

“The club showed me little respect even though I was the captain. It was clear they wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible, apart from one person: Mikel Arteta,” Xhaka told The Athletic. "When I met him for the first time, my bags were already packed and I was about to hop on a plane. With my heart and soul, I had already left the club. I said to him, ‘The solution is for me to go’.

“Mikel told me he wanted me to stay. But I wasn’t sure. I remember speaking to my dad at the time. He told me, ‘Let’s go’. For the first time ever, he told me to run away. He said there was no future for me at Arsenal.’ 

“I could not imagine myself playing for Arsenal again. I said to him, ‘I just want to be somewhere where the fans don’t boo me’. But he was so convincing. For the first time in my life, I took a decision without talking to my family first. I got up and said, ‘OK, I’ll stay’. We embraced and, from that day on, I returned to training and it was like nothing ever happened.” 

On leaving the Gunners, Xhaka said: "On one hand I was a bit sad (that Arsenal didn’t want to extend), but on the other hand I was also quite happy because I didn’t like that uncertainty. Leverkusen’s plan for me was clear. Leaving Arsenal