Not many Arsenal players have faced the wrath of supporters more than Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international has had his problems with Gunners fans, but he has almost always found a way to come back stronger.
He had his outburst against Crystal Palace last year and many felt that his Arsenal career was over. However, Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay put and Xhaka became one of our best players in the second half of last season.
The former Basel man lost his form again this term. He, like most of his teammates, had a shocking start to the season and his red card against Burnley a few weeks ago made things worse.
Xhaka was again at the end of a ton of criticism. Even the fans who always had his back were angered by his actions against Burnley, but like he has done before, he returned in style with a stunning performance against Chelsea.
Even if he constantly manages to come back stronger, it is not healthy for a player to face such harsh criticism from fans, pundits and the media.
Switzerland national team director Pierluigi Tami recently slammed Arsenal fans’ treatment of Xhaka. (Read here) Swiss boss Vladimir Petkovic has now leapt into his captain’s defence saying that the midfielder has his complete support.
‘Xhaka has my complete support‘
He told Blick: “Granit knows that it was unnecessary and unfortunate (his red card). But that’s the way it is in life. When things don’t go well, things like that happen. Granit is an emotional type – opponents know that too and may provoke him.”
“Either way: I am convinced that he will draw the right conclusions from this case too and will come back even stronger. He’ll react differently next time. I can only say: Granit knows that I am always at his side. He has my complete support. I am always there for him, as a person and a friend.”
Xhaka received some criticism yesterday after his performance in the first half, but his display in the second period was much better. Arteta will be hoping that he gets back to his best for the second half of the campaign, just like he did last season to help us win the FA Cup.
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