Xhaka: The day when 60,000 people turned against me was the best day of my life

On November 3, Monday, just after 9pm, Granit Xhaka scored his first goal after joining Sunderland. After scoring, he slid to his knees to celebrate. Amid the deafening cheers at the Stadium of Light, Xhaka, wearing the captain's armband, was immersed in joy. For the 33-year-old, who wears Sunderland's No. 34 jersey, this is another unforgettable moment in his career.

Just after nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, Xhaka appeared at the club's training ground to talk about the matter. His equalizer against Everton helped Sunderland move up to fourth in the Premier League table.

The newly promoted Sunderland have accumulated 18 points in 10 games, which is really shocking. This Saturday, they will face leaders Arsenal at home.

1

Xhaka's story at Sunderland has just begun, but his bond with Arsenal is long-standing and complicated. During his seven seasons with the Gunners, he experienced ups and downs, rising, falling and rising again - playing a vital role on and off the pitch.

"I mean, everyone knows that Arsenal holds a special place in my heart," he said. "Being able to play for this club for seven years means a lot to me." "Scoring the first goal for a new club is always special," he said with a smile, "but I don't think Sunderland brought me here to score every game." Asked about his favorite moment in his four months at Sunderland, Xhaka nodded toward the door, where his colleagues were silently ringing the doorbell in twos and threes. "That was definitely my first day here - the first time I walked in the door, the feeling of being here."

"I believe that taking that first step, that first step into the locker room, you need to have a positive attitude. I feel it, the first step is important."

"You have to feel like home. This is our place, we are here from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon most days, and if you come here and don't feel like home, it's not good. Fortunately, I feel great, the people here. Not many, not many players, but the people I met on the first day were very positive, which is what I wanted."

"After that, we worked hard to accumulate feelings every day. Before the start of the season, if someone said we could get 18 points after 10 games, He will certainly be laughed at. But we know what the club is building and what we want to achieve, and we deserve it."

2

As Xhaka said, first impressions are important to him. He recalls training with the first team in Basel, Switzerland, as a 17-year-old with great expectations; he also talks about Mikel Arteta and how the Basque set the tone with a uniquely Arteta move on Arteta's first day at Arsenal in December 2019. Nearly six years later, that move will still be regarded as Arteta's classic move.

"I will never forget the first day Arteta came," Xhaka said. "At the training ground, we had a big room with some chairs, but the chairs were scattered everywhere - it was chaos. ."

"He called everyone in the building into this room and said, 'Guys, from the outside, you look like this - a mess. ' So everyone took a chair and put it in the right place. He said, 'I want you to be like this every day. '"

"You're like, 'Wow,' he set that standard the first day, and then he started developing the mentality, the standards of training, pregame, activation and recovery. The talent is outstanding and it's great to work with him because his understanding of football is like no other." Xhaka made 297 appearances for Arsenal and was involved in many landmark games during his seven years at the club. In 2016, the 23-year-old Xhaka was signed by Wenger. Since then, he participated in Wenger's last game, Emery's first game, Arteta's first game, as well as two FA Cup finals (both won) and a Europa League final (lost).

However, in the eyes of some Arsenal fans and other neutral observers, Xhaka's years at Arsenal have been condensed into red and yellow cards - in fact, after receiving two red cards in the 2016-17 season, he did not receive another red card until 2020. There was also that day in October 2019, when he was replaced by Emery in a 2-2 home draw with Crystal Palace, and the fans at the scene let out deafening boos.

Facing the strong dissatisfaction of the fans, Xhaka covered his ears. He took off the captain's armband and jersey, was replaced by 18-year-old Bukayo Saka, and walked straight into the tunnel.

Xhaka's career at Arsenal may be over, at least in his own eyes.

He has been captain of Arsenal for only four weeks - this decision was made after a player vote, and the announcement date was chosen on Xhaka's 27th birthday. Now that Emery has stripped him of his symbol of authority as captain, the public uproar surrounding Xhaka has reached fever pitch. He missed the next five games and the team failed to win.

At the end of November, Emery reactivated Xhaka in the Europa League home game against Frankfurt, and Arsenal lost again. Emery was sacked the next day. Among players my age, there are always some who are better than me and have better physical fitness than me. I was very thin and very small. I took a big leap around the age of 16 and won the 2009 U17 World Cup with Switzerland, which opened a door for me. I got a chance to play in the first team at Basel. After that, I walked over step by step. "

Along the way, Xhaka has met many captains with different styles, and Arsenal fans will be surprised when they hear the name of the captain he admires most. "I have been fortunate to play beside many excellent captains, but if I have to choose the best, it is Stefan Lichtsteiner. "

"He stayed at Juventus for eight years and won every honor. He was my captain for the Swiss national team but I was lucky that when he was 35 he came to Arsenal for a year. I saw firsthand how hard he trained every day. I thought, 'I'm not surprised that this guy is still in such good shape at 35 years old and playing for Arsenal'. He was a leader, a great human being, a professional player, he had all these qualities and he was in perfect condition. "

5

In Sunderland, head coach Regis Lebris and some players refer to Xhaka as the "second coach" or "field coach." He is obtaining a coaching qualification through the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) in England and currently holds B-level and A-level certificates. "I am waiting for the UEFA professional coaching certificate, but I am still a player, so I can't take it. "He said.

"But I don't want to be a 'second coach' or anything like that. I'm still a player. The coach always told me to play as many years as possible because things are different after retirement. Of course, I will try my best to use my experience to help the team every day. "

Xhaka was among the rest of the first-team squad for Sunderland's U21 match against Anderlecht last week, but he said it shouldn't be read too much into. "I went there because I was interested in watching different types of leagues and watching our young players play. It's always interesting to see how they grow, but I was there purely for fun and for no particular reason. I have another part of my life, which is raising a family, but I'm very happy to be able to take the time to go to the games. "

Xhaka's enthusiasm for Sunderland is obvious, and various statistics also confirm this: his running, forward passing, interception and other data are among the best or even close to the top. And his most valuable quality is his sense of presence.

On the morning when the Sunderland team put on the captain's armband, Xhaka told reporters: "The word 'English Championship' does not exist in the dressing room at all. It seems his words have been heard, with everything in place for Sunderland. They are currently fourth and "top ten" targets have entered the vocabulary of boss Kirill Louis-Dreyfus, who is five years younger than Xhaka.

He didn't say that. "After 38 games, let's see where we are," Xhaka said. "After 10 games, no one has been relegated and no one has won the league." If you lose the remaining 28 games, put the previous 10 games behind you. "

Sir Alex Ferguson once said of his captain: "What I want is a real leader, not a vase that only looks good on the top of the cake. "Xhaka agreed, "For me, being a leader means being sincere, not hypocritical. Don't deliberately prove to others that you are the captain, just be yourself. This shows in how you conduct yourself in the locker room, on the field and in any situation. Whether you are a captain or not is ultimately judged by other people, coaches and everyone else. "

Arsenal's hope of winning the Premier League title is real, Sunderland's confidence in avoiding relegation is also real, and Granit Xhaka's influence is even more real.