£21m star admits he ‘cried’ in surprise admission after Arsenal exit

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Arsenal sold long-serving midfielder Granit Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, and he has now made a surprise revelation about his exit.

Xabi Alonso was keen to sign the Switzerland captain, and the Bundesliga side parted with around £21m to bring Xhaka in.

His absence is being felt at Arsenal, with many claiming that the current issues in midfield are stemming as a result of his departure.

Xhaka left on Arsenal on good terms with the club and fans, having completed a remarkable turnaround from being one of the least popular players at the club, and he has now spoken about his move.

Granit Xhaka cried when joining Bayer Leverkusen

Speaking to Bayer Leverkusen media, in comments relayed by BILD, Xhaka admitted that he was so happy to be joining the German league leaders that he cried.

“Absolutely. I’m a very emotional person, I like to cry and I’m not ashamed of it,” he revealed.

“Of course, I also cried for joy at times. For example, when I made my transfer here to Leverkusen. I also cried tears of joy because I really wanted to go back. I think it’s also part of it as a person.”

Xhaka’s desire to leave Arsenal

There was some surprise amongst the Arsenal fanbase that Xhaka was sold, given that he had become a popular figure, had his best season in terms of performances and had helped the club qualify for the Champions League.

It became clear that whilst he was enjoying his time at Arsenal, he wanted to move to Germany and start a new chapter of his career. He is currently thriving at Leverkusen, and is being sorely missed in the Arsenal midfield.

Many will lament the fact that he would have been useful for at least one more year, but Mikel Arteta clearly wanted to respect Xhaka’s desire to move on, and there are no hard feelings between the player or the club.