The most beloved character arcs in the history of cinema – a lot of them revolve around redemption.
Good Will Hunting.
The Shawshank Redemption
Jerry Maguire
Braveheart
Groundhog Day
Anchorman (redemption is spelled R-O-N!)
All of them have a central character who falls in the face of a trial or challenge – only to rise up magnificently to claim adulation and glory.
And looking back on his career there can be no doubt that Granit Xhaka’s time in our red and white would make a cinematic masterpiece.
You’d go and see it, so would I.
When Granit joined Arsenal at the tail end of Arsene Wenger’s tenure, he had a manager who would put every bit of faith into him. Wenger imbues belief into his charges, makes them realise that there are no limits – only unreached potential.
And Xhaka was a name that heralded some excitement for us fans. His time for Switzerland and for bringing some welcome cheer to the fans of Borussia Moenchengladbach was watched in highlight form, to titillate us all. We were getting a player who would bleed for his team.
The problems began almost instantly though.
Granit was not a defensive midfielder. The issue with that is that the team he was joining had a chasm to fill in that role. It was the hole in the hull that hindered us in our chase for cups. It was the weakness that was exploited time and again.
And we can never know the instructions that were meted out to Xhaka by Wenger – but you can be darn sure that the player would heft that responsibility on his shoulders if he was on the pitch.
Which meant that he would be the fall guy.
On many occasions, it was so easy to shine the spotlight on his errors, his failure to track runners that would lead to conceding goals.
But it would get worse.
Granit was an action man of a midfielder. He would tackle, pass, shoot, pull levers and action movements for other players to exploit spaces. But he was unable to perform the heroics he was capable of. He had a job to do, no matter if he wasn’t the right man for it.
Wenger came and gone, replaced by a man under pressure from the start. Any man replacing a stalwart is in for a hiding to nothing, so Unai Emery never stood a chance. He at least tried to remedy the midfield situation with the signing of terrier Lucas Torreira – but results never matched Emery’s vision and talent – and the club were on the slide.
Then came the nadir of Xhaka’s redemption song. The moment that is hard to watch. Xhaka’s histrionics against Crystal Palace and his subsequent sarcastic clapping of the undeserved boos that rained down on him, followed by the manner in which he dispensed of the club shirt, signalled his time at Arsenal would soon be over.
Who comes back from being booed by their own fans? Who stays at a club when they jeer at the fans who are meant to support them?
What player has ripped off the shirt and thrown it away in disgust – only to remain?
And then breathe new life into their career with those same fans?
Step forward, Granit.
Resolute in name, resolute in nature.
It was new boss Mikel Arteta who recognised the leader in Granit and convinced him to stay.
But it was the player who embraced the challenge and the new role placed in front of him.
And since that moment, we have seen the real Granit Xhaka.
That includes his unrivalled passion, his candidness to the fans, his heart-on-his-sleeve nature which has only endeared him more to our cause.
And now we’re forlorn to see him leave.
Who would’ve seen that coming two years ago?
But the combative, multi-tasking midfielder has proved his worth for us – and we’ll have a tough time replacing his efforts on the pitch – but especially his role off the pitch within the squad.
All the players follow him, it’ll mean someone will have to step up.
Granit Xhaka has shoes that are difficult to fill.
But above all, he has a story all of his own making. An unmissable, dramatic, see-sawing epic that will leave you breathless.
5 stars.
Up The Arsenal 