Granit Xhaka’s agent has confirmed that the midfielder wants to leave Arsenal to join Hertha Berlin, after an agreement between the player and the Bundesliga club was reached.
Rumours of his departure have been circulating for the last couple of weeks, stemming from the incident against Crystal Palace which saw the Swiss international stripped of the captaincy after his reaction to a substitution.
Xhaka was unhappy about the way his response was framed by Unai Emery, and furious that it was suggested he would be offered counselling for what were perceived as mental health issues following the furore.
In truth, he was simply furious and unwilling to apologise for his behaviour after being barracked by fans for his reluctance to get off the pitch quickly.
It has also been suggested he hasn’t taken kindly to Mikel Arteta’s public declarations of faith in him, because the new head coach said he could go in the summer.
That seems a reasonable thing for Arteta to have done – particularly when it’s tough to find experience and quality in the winter market – but speaking to Swiss publication BLICK, Jose Noguera made it clear Xhaka wants out when the window opens in January.
“Look, I will say it frankly and honestly: we are in agreement with Hertha BSC and would like to go to Berlin,” he said.
“That’s what we said Arsenal’s club boss Raul Sanllehi and sports director Edu Gaspar – as well as the new coach Mikel Arteta.”
At this point, if anyone wants out and isn’t committed to the cause, we should let them go. Xhaka is obviously unhappy, there’s little chance of reconciliation and every chance things could flare up again.
So if Hertha are willing to pay the kind of fee that might help us fund another purchase, let’s just do it.
Weird that we seem to continue to depend on him. He’s started all the games since he came back.
Because we don’t have better than him atm.
Which is a pretty fucking terrible state of affairs.
Do we have a choice? The only other options are Guendouzi or Willock and perhaps Arteta is aiming for a bit of experience to help stabilize at first.
I reckon Luiz could do a job there, he’s played that position for PSG and Chelsea before, has the passing range and is aggressive defensively. Chambers also got Fulham’s player of the season at DM. Alongside Guendouzi and Torreira we do have options, and we can always reinvest the money we get for him.
you could sell granit for let’s say £35mn and get in another center back with a view to moving Luiz to dfm – either way let him go if he doesn’t want to stay
A player lacking positional discipline like Luiz is just what we don’t need in CM. I’d reinvest all the Xhaka money and go for Rabiot who definitely isn’t happy at Juve. He seems a bit of a problem child but could do for us what Busquets did/ does for Barca. Keep possession, keep the ball moving, use it smart. Things we’re currently lacking and qualities I suspect Arteta will value (it’s what his game was mostly about after all).
If Xhaka has to leave because of problems with fans, why would we even consider Rabiot?
Rabiot might seem like a bit of a dick but he is a skilful player with a good engine and maybe he just really needs a club where he will be a valued first pick. Wages could be sky high though.
I give 7 poos 😉
The idea of playing Luiz at DM is that it gives him a more freedom than CB. It’s the same reason he does better in the centre of a 3 at the back. I don’t think Rabiot is a good shout for a DM, but maybe as a box to box provided he has the right attitude. Emre Can is a more obvious replacement for Xhaka.
So you want to avoid putting a player without positional discipline in that position, but are happy to sign a player without personal discipline instead?
Figures…
Shouldn’t it be AMN getting a chance as a DM?
Heavens no. Please no. AMN is overrated and has mostly terrible pass placement and weight
He recently said he wants to play as a winger, so I guess not.
If it means getting Luiz out of the centre of defence then I’m all for it. Luiz has some very good attributes, decent on the ball, can pick a pass, can score a free kick even. Alas he can’t defend for toffee and we’ll look vulnerable in defense every time he plays there.
I don.t think Luiz has the legs to do that job anymore. And we probably need Chambers in defence. AMN might be more plausible
Yeah I did wonder if Luiz has the engine to play there as well, but still might be our best option. AMN said he wanted to be a winger last seaso (hey, don’t ask me!) so I don’t think that would work either, which leaves us with Chambers.
Willock should not be anywhere near first team.
And you should be nowhere near an arsenal fans chat room…
MonkeyJoe should never be anywhere near Arsenal blogs.
Enternal titi fan police… You have so many roles mate! While I compártelo disagree with his assessment of willock. He’s not being a dick (like some others) and has every right to comment.
You know what is interesting? Willock or maybe Niles at CM. Can we guess or imagine how good can they be if they got as much starts af Xhaka had? I currently see more potential and flexibility in Willock and Niles for CM then Xhaka to develop (he will not, he’s going anyway but the question remains legitimate). And to be clear, I would welcome a new signing for CM at any time.
100% torreira nicht eben ne spielt coming around to form (still a few mistakes) but his work rate is y Top notch. Amazing what getting a consistent chance does to younger players confidence. Xhaka has had more than enough chance to prove himself and showed over 2.5 years he didn’t improve the team. Let’s give that consistent opportunity to some of these younger guys – douzi, willock, ceballos to prove that they can get it done with some consistent run. Esp. With xhaka once again revealing he isn’t up for fighting for it. But hey guys scapegoat away on the… Read more »
A journey man footballer no more no less too slow and in 4 years no bloody improvement not a great loss .
Then feel free to fuck off. Utter tosser.
He wants to go because of the fans like you. No class.
He reaped what he sowed. Class or not.
He wants to leave because he is just one semi bad performance away from another round of abuse. There may be a truce now at Emirates but his position is untenable since the booing/fuck off incident. I unlike others do not think anything would have changed even if he made full hearted apology. Personally I respect him for sticking with his stance although I do not condone his reaction to the crows as a captain. Everything considered, this is good for all parties concerned. Fair play to him that he played professionally since his come back, despite wanting to leave.… Read more »
One thing I’m not entirely pleased with is that with the agent running his mouth like that. It gives the buying team more control of the price. They lowball us and we don’t accept, you bet xhaka and his agent will kick up a storm.
I wouldn’t apologize for mental issues I don’t have
LMAO Arteta.s asst!
This club has stagnated because of do-gooders like you Olivije.
(seeing as we’re doing broad sweeping statements assigning blame for a complex situation to one element only)
Says the guy who just made broad sweeping statements assigning blame for a complex situation to one element only (ie “do-gooders like Olivije”)
Whoosh…that one went right over your head SciGunner!
Pretty sure I just stated my opinion of his continued spoilt, entitled attitude and refusal to engage in a professional manner as would befit the captain of Arsenal and at no point hounded his family and spewed vile invective directly to him, either via social media or at the ground. But okay.
@Grymelock.
And you’re right. Problem is too many on here think twitter trolls only exist in arsenal fandom and use that to excuse xhaka’s continued pathetic Behaviour, mentality, commitment and most importantly consistently bang average performances. Xhaka made his own bed. Proper leaders don’t need it made for them.
I don’t believe this is true, but if that is the case, then I feel even better due to my humble contribution. Only Arsenal player ever I’ve said this about, but: From the bottom of my heart, f**k off as soon as you can and never show your face again. You disrespected my beloved club by throwing the armband to the ground. You need to go. Traitor.
Sort yourself out, if you cant see what he did was wrong then go and support Hertha Berlin
I wish fans like you would fuck off already. Xhaka has been given way too many second chances ffs, he needs to fuck off and the best he can do is Hertha Berlin. The other club he’s been linked to is Newcastle. I wonder if anyone would pay more than £15m for him.
Fuck off, yes, the two simple words I was searching for to express my emotions on the granit, who lets down the team. He was never a Gunner and simply no way for him to play again in this team. FUCK OFF then and good luck to you.
So you are one of the fans who started abusing of him.
Too right. In the immortal words of withnail he can shove it up his arse for nothing and fuck off while he’s doing it
Has such a mediocre player ever been the subject of so much attention at Arsenal before? Please go. He taunted supporters, threw the armband down and was too close to doing the same with his jersey. Please go. Same for anyone who went from justified criticism of his performance and attitude on the pitch to taunts that cross far over the line of basic decency. Again, please go.
My thoughts exactly. If we were dealing with Neymar or Ronaldo I could kind of understand, but the amount of column inches and comments dedicated to this guy is maddening. The fact that the only team in for him are 12th in the Bundesliga speaks volumes. Time to close the book on this chapter!
Tell Berlin to put the money where their mouth is or fuck off. Since we signed him and tried to build our midfield around him we’ve finished outside the top 4 every season. He’s the kind of player that looks good in a small team. Shit player with a shit attitude, leader my ass.
Trade him for Arne Maier.
Salomon kalou straight swap for me
Swapping him for Niklas Stark might be more realistic. Would improve our team a lot.
We’d probably need his brother Tony
Too slow for Premier League, we need someone who can control the game but up the tempo when needed, we need our midfielder to always look for the forward pass and play the ball quickly
Fully agree.
Despite, all the Arsenal managers (4 – perm and interim), choosing him regularly in my two cents he is the player and position we most urgently and easily need to and can improve on through the transfer window.
I know it’s not easy getting a Carzola but surely there are many better than Xhaka, if we are willing to pay the price. Or maybe Edu can pull out a slightly experienced Martinelli level gem for the middle field.
If the money is right – 25M – 35M then off you pop lad. Can’t believe he’s still pissy about a situation he failed to control. Child.
Can’t believe you take words from a tabloid (his “anger” at Arteta) seriously. I can however believe he wants to leave a club where more than half of the fanbase hate him. Wouldn’t you?
Look, this is the club of Patrick Vieira. Cesc Fabregas. Gilberto Silva. Santi Cazorla. Xhaka must look at those names and know he’s just not a good enough CM. That’s not his fault but it’s not ours either.
I don’t think fans hate him, they just recognise he’s not good enough for Arsenal, never has been and never will be. And that’s frustrating for everyone because he’s been here way too long and we’ve wasted a lot of time, money and points on him.
I don’t completely disagree. But by your reasoning all of our players bar a few should join Xhaka and leave. Do you really want to start your comparison game for all positions? Strikers? Defenders? This is the club of…
You are of course absolutely right. But CM is such a vital position in terms of the way we are trying to play and we’ve seen an awful lot of Xhaka. As much as David Luiz and Sokratis are infuriating we’ve only had a few seasons of them. Xhaka we’ve seen season after season what he does and what he doesn’t do. I feel like we’ve been loyal for a fair few years but you can’t blame the fans for voicing their annoyance when he gives away another penalty or another goal scoring stray pass. It’s enough now. Both parties… Read more »
In Xhaka’s case (lack of) ability is not the only reason isn’t it. He wants to go, he and fans don’t get along (there is no point splitting fans as the ones that abused him online or he swore at – I’m neither but I don’t think it makes a difference to him). In terms of other positions, we have to upgrade isn’t it? E.g. How can we have Sokratis, Mustafi, Luis as main CBs and expect to be higher up the table. Only it can’t be wholesale change. BTW, there are others like Bellerin, Pepe, Laca need to be… Read more »
It should make a difference because the online abuse might be from a smart ass 9 year old kid across the planet who supports spurs or something. It’s part and parcel of professional sports or just being famous. Hold yourself up to the standards you set yourself. Why go down so many levels.
Xhaka clearly isn’t good enough for us if we want back in the top 4, it isn’t Bayern coming in for him, it’s Hertha Berlin, which is about his level. He isn’t a bad player, that’s simply it.
He’s regarded highly for his leadership qualities and mental toughness, but showed none of that whilst captain, culminating in the disaster game telling fans to ‘fuck off’. I wouldn’t have minded him staying for the season to see what Arteta could do with him but for that. After that, if we can get a good deal in January he has to go.
For my part yes, we do need to play that game, weigh up who doesn.t meet the required standard, move them on and replace with better. And if that means the whole team then I hope we have some money
Exactly
And why do you think they hate him…? Have a guess.
If this is true then don’t play him. We don’t want him getting injured because we’ll end up with an injured player who wants away (and end up having to pay his wages whilst injured etc).
He played ok today (but still had a couple of his brain farts as usual). He’s never really been good enough anyway. Buh-bye!
Good ridance….. you won’t be missed… and your agent might play his role, he’s a c*nt anyway
All wenger-era dead wood must leave. Xhaka, mustafi, Ozil, Kolasinac and I’ll throw in Sokratis too though he’s post wenger he’s still fkn awful.
To be fair he did not offer the expected or progress in the 4 years he’s been at our club. Taking into account the substitution saga, he should leave in January…
So which player you think has improved in the past 4 years? Xhaka just got abuse because of consistant scapegoating..
Xhaka got criticised for consistent poor performance and not having the right attributes to bring success. Xhaka got abused by fans (not twitter trolls – please keep the distinction intact) when he threw the armband down, trugged off the pitch, told the arsenal paying FANS to fuck off and waved his arms like a childish clown. He’s a overrated spoiled brat… The antithesis of the leader and midfield pivot we need. He is going to a bang average team that perennially fights relegation in the Bundesliga and his alternative is Newcastle… Sums his quality up perfectly.
No, he gets abuse because he told the fans to fuck off….duh!
Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
After we recoup most of that transfer fee..
Salomon kalou straight swap please
I hope you also told Hertha to give us a nice chunk of cash.
There have been Arsenal players in the past who I have not been particularly keen of. As for the current lot, I would give no fucks if the majority of them left.
As for Xhaka, I would take him to Berlin myself.
If the club didn’t give him permission to talk to other clubs, isn’t that tapping up?
If it means the end of xhaka… Who cares!?
Best scenario for club and player. Surprised he isn’t joining a bigger club (no offence) on account of how some of our fans swear how good he is.
It’s more to do with how he is treated than how he plays. No one really says he’s world clsss, just that he gets unfairly scapegoated while others get a free pass. Puts 100% in unlike some others who can’t waite to be off the pitch.
100% is strolling around the pitch making constant cock ups? You don’t half talk bollocks….
You’re wasting your time, they see what they want to see and love a good scapegoat. When Granit is gone they’ll find another one. There’s a mob mentality to large sections of the fanbase and it’s not nice. It’s a big part of why Lucas Torreira also wants to leave, no player wants to experience hate from the fans.
For real! ?
So we’re getting Rabiot on loan to replace him?
Only if his mum says it’s okay.
I ain’t going to lose a lot of sleep if some of our players leave the club next month Xhaka included. He’s too slow for me and if we can bring in a better player then he won’t be missed.
Six points from the drop, eight points from top 4, weird and scary season, kind of looking forward and shitting my self at same time, make sence anyone???
Just fuck off you big baby.
I like Xhaka, thought he played well today. Unless he can be replaced adequately? Then I don’t see how we can sell our most experienced midfielder mid season. Contracts are a two way street, and if he waits until summer, i’m pretty sure he’ll get better options than Hertha Berlin. Talk of a €25million fee, I think he’s worth more, and I’m not convinced we’ll be able to upgrade mid season for a similar fee. Xhaka + Torreira have looked good the last two games, and whilst I wouldn’t say no to an upgrade, I don’t think Xhaka is as… Read more »
es. Believe that would be a huge fee for Hertha Berlin. Right now Berlin probably sees him as “damaged goods”, so will be very interesting to see if we even move him along now and who we would bring in as a suitable upgrade. Tough spot.
Bye, Felicia!
If the money is right we absolutely shouldn’t stand in his way!
Sell sell sell
Hallelujah!
Time to start thinking about potential CM signings
“It has also been suggested he hasn’t taken kindly to Mikel Arteta’s public declarations…” This is sh*t, pure speculation. I read the original article and it’s not a direct quote from the agent. But that’s not surprising, as in Switzerland BLICK means the same thing as Totten*am.
This is a win/win for me. sell him and either promote youth or buy in. I would prefer we promote youth and spunk the money on a CB personally but… I only play football manager, I know fuck all about real football management.
Honestly not very good timing to leave to be honest on our part, it won’t be easy finding an experienced quality replacement during the winter window. We would also be losing a leader in the dressing room at this moment in time and the next most experienced central midfielder we have on our team is 23 year old Lucas. Love him or hate him this move will hurt us as a club more than it would ever hurt him just wish there was a way to resolve this or for him to give us till the summer if not I… Read more »
His qualities aren’t exactly irreplaceable, and what does it do or morale having him round stinking the place out?
Where there’s a will, and there is a fucking will, there’s a way, and there is a fucking way. Out there is a replacement, just got to go get him.
“Oh, just got to get a replacement.” Are good replacements so easy to get? Do such good replacements want to come to Arsenal in January?
Are you fucking naive or just fucking stupid?
Give it a rest mate, don’t you have some homework to do?
Well that is thenrub then isn’t it? They have agreed terms with him and he told club he is going, but haven’t agreed on tranfer price. Somebody has to pay the bill.
Listen lads, let’s take the spoilt brat along with Özil, to the little toy shop, buy 99 luft balloons at Nena’s expense, and hope they float away. These guys are not Arsenal pedigree.
What is Özil doing with this suddenly?
At least that’s clear and credit to his agent for clearing it up in time.
Get it done no great hassle just shame as if it weren’t for his over confidence in some aspect I thought he could be hell of a player but too headstrong and didn’t improve way I believe he could have.
Anyways
Stephen Nzonzi Emre Can are two immediate replacements and then of course bring back Cesc
Tolisso from Bayern or Vidal from Barca are long shots
Good riddance. Fucking liability.
I believe Xhaka is a good player if slotted in the right midfield. I was hoping Emery could revive him but he didnt. Maybe arteta can but after these comments he seems impatient. From Arsenal to Herta doesnt sound like an upgrade
“At this point, if anyone wants out and isn’t committed to the cause, we should let them go.”
Not just at this point, at ANY point. When people aren’t happy and want to go then it’s time to go. That’s regardless of who they are, good, bad or mediocre.
Always!
Generally the most efficient way to get a player committed to the cause is abuse and booing, I wonder why it didn’t work in this case? Strange world eh?
Fantastic news, now can we get a midfielder with some vision and pace to replace this tanker!!!
The crap thing about this, is we need him till we can replace him and there is still another match before 1st Jan. his agent releasing this will not help douse the flames that surrounds Xhaka. Agent is clearly a nob head.
Stupid penalty giveaway against Brighton cost us Champions league spot and the xtra monies that go with it.
Always seems to have a crazy foul/moment in him,and that same temperament made him insult the fans.
Nobody bigger than the club.
Then what we have is a player who deserves a definitive F%#+ YOU! He couldn’t apologize and admit his pathetic actions, so let him be known as the POS he is.
It’s an utter crime that we have neglected Torreira in favour of Xhaka. Given the right support Torreira can become a better player. Xhaka is a player who makes mistakes and makes others around him look awful.
Torreira IS a better player.
Even when picked he’s been behaving like a child, almost like he was trying to get on that card happy ref’s bad side today. His best games have been the ones you’ve forgotten he’s on the pitch.
Question though- seeing as how he’s got well over a year on his current deal left, how were another club able to broker an agreement without Arsenal’s approval? did Hertha Berlin violate FIFA rules? or is the agent just blatantly lying?
Or…the same way we went about the Arteta business without contacting the club first?
Good player. Maybe even very good player. But definitely wrong bloody league for this guy.
Always thought he could thrive in Series A.
If Berlin willing to cough up £20m, let’s take the loss and gets his wages off the book.
He’s been better last couple of games, but still slows down the play too much and too often makes easy and safe back passes.
Thank you for your service, but next please.
He has been scapegoated a bit, but when you’ve sunk as low as we have so quickly after a successful period, it’s natural to do so.
Personally think there are only two players that have played anywhere near their best over the past couple of seasons, Leno and Auba, so bar them wouldn’t mind seeing anyone else leave for the right amount.
Would be a mistake for Xhaka to join Berlin IMO. Arteta is the sort of manager who can bring out what Granit promises so much but rarely delivers. Today, he played in closer relation to Torreira. The Uruguayan did what he did best nipping away and stealing the ball where Xhaka did what he did best providing laser accurate balls. Its this sort of midfield dynamic and relation we have been fundamentally missing for a long stretch now as Unai got distracted. And its the sort of relation that needs a stable partnership to form with intuition fomred through regular… Read more »
Exactly, sell and replace, if possible. Never really been good enough not matter our current reliance on him.
I don.t hate the guy, I wish him well when he goes. But time to move on and get the rebuild underway
…besides the fact of course Hertha are 11th in Bundesliga and do not feature in europa….
Bye.
Can I please drive him to Berlin? I heard there are people willing to fly from Brisbane to do the same!
If he doesn’t want to be here sell him.
F*ck him. Terrible attitude. Never a proper captain.
Don’t let the door hit ya