Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka believes he is ready to captain the club again if called upon.
Xhaka, 29, was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy by former boss Unai Emery, following an incident at the Emirates in October 2019 where the Switzerland international appeared to swear at the crowd after he was booed when being substituted.
Arsenal have been without a permanent captain since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure to Barcelona in January, with Alexandre Lacazette, Kieran Tierney and Martin Odegaard each leading the side on occasion.
Xhaka, however, admitted that he would step up to captain the north London club again.
“I will never say never,” he told Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal’s trip to West Ham on Sunday. “I was not ready for that again.
“A captain of Arsenal can be without an armband and I am trying to lead the game and the players without the armband, but if tomorrow someone from the football club comes and asks if I want to take it I will be here because I know I am ready again to do it.”
While he has enjoyed a good run of form under current manager Mikel Arteta, Xhaka has, at times, had a rocky relationship with Arsenal fans since joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016, culminating in that incident.
He also gave his take on what is now an infamous moment in Arsenal’s recent history.
“After this happened people were telling me this is not hate but for me, this was absolutely hate,” Xhaka said.
“I know what hate is and I know what is love and what is between this. This was not in between, it was not love, it was hate.”
After starting in Arsenal’s three opening defeats in their opening three matches and receiving a red card in the 5-0 loss to Manchester City, Xhaka has enjoyed something of a renaissance since the turn of the year.
He has played 90 minutes in all of Arsenal’s last 12 Premier League games, scoring from distance is last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Manchester United and collecting the club’s player of the month award for April.
And Xhaka stated that his relationship with Arteta has helped turn things around at Arsenal.
“Mikel and I are very close,” he added.
“When he came two years ago he told me exactly what I wanted to hear. I was missing a coach like him, very warm and open with clear ideas and he is always behind me no matter what people were saying about me.”
Arsenal sit fourth in the Premier League, two points ahead of north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur with five matches remaining.
(Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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