Granit Xhaka has revealed that Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay at Arsenal after the Switzerland international became "very close" to leaving the Gunners.
It all stemmed from an incident on 27 October 2019, when Xhaka was at the centre of criticism after being substituted off in the 61st minute against Crystal Palace. A portion of Arsenal fans started to cheer when his name was called to be replaced, while he was also booed as he left the pitch at the Emirates Stadium.
The 30-year-old responded by making several sarcastic gestures and angrily saying "f*** off" twice to the fans who jeered his name. Xhaka also removed his jersey before walking straight down the tunnel, with then-manager Unai Emery describing his actions as "wrong" and suggested that the midfielder should apologise.
After the incident, Xhaka began a hiatus from the first-team squad, before Arteta replaced Emery in December 2019. Xhaka was adamant that he wanted to depart the Gunners and start a new chapter somewhere else, but Spaniard Arteta managed to convince him to stay.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Xhaka said: "I don't wish anyone to be in the situation that I was in. It was the most difficult time for me, family, and at the time, you don't see anyone near you - this is the problem. You are sitting in a dark place, feeling alone, you have no chance to touch anyone, that's how I felt.
"You try and not listen to what the media is writing or speaking on the TV, but you cannot ignore it. After that, I had one option, and that was to leave. It was too much for me, the fans supported me for three years, but then they didn't support me.
"I don't know how I dealt with it, I don't like to think back and feel the same pain I had. I was very, very strong and we are sitting here now with a different story."
He added: "I was very close [to leaving]. Mikel was the guy that stopped me leaving without speaking to any of my family. Mikel came and I had a good conversation with him, I had never met Mikel before, but before the meeting I told him I wanted to leave. I couldn't play again with that shirt."
Xhaka had some brutal, but honest conversations with Arteta, who convinced him to stay put and try to revive his Gunners career. It took a while for the former Borussia Monchengladbach man to win the Arsenal fans over, however, although lifting the FA Cup at the end of the 19/20 season would have helped his cause.
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When opening up on what Arteta told him, Xhaka added: "He was very honest and very straight. I don't like people that try and play mind games, he knows exactly what he wants from me, where the process will go. And I felt the moment was right to stay and come back how I want, and to come back where I deserve to be, with the people around, with the fans and with the teammates.
"I knew with Mikel and this team that I could turn things around. I think I have the quality to be a good player, I have the quality to be a player for this football club, to help the team. With my experience and the mentality that I have, I wanted to give something back."
Fast forward to October 2022 and Xhaka is one of Arsenal's most important players at the moment, with the experienced midfielder arguably performing at the highest level of his career to date. He has notched four goals in 11 appearances so far this season and recently found the net in Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Southampton last time out.
