It seemed like the point of no return for Granit Xhaka. As he walked off the pitch, substituted in the second half of a Premier League game against Crystal Palace, the boos rang out around the Emirates stadium. In response, Xhaka cupped a hand to his ear, shouted “f*** off” and then stormed down the tunnel, clearly furious. Predictably, that created a rift between the player and his fans. Things didn’t improve immediately after the incident. The midfielder was dropped from Unai Emery’s squad for the following game against Wolves, and was soon stripped of the captaincy. Almost exactly a year on, though, it is as if nothing happened. Xhaka is back in the first team, revitalised and...
Full Story »