At one point it seemed there was no way back for Granit Xhaka at Arsenal, but new boss Mikel Arteta now says he hopes he can keep the midfield at the Emirates.
Xhaka was infamously stripped of the Arsenal captaincy back in October after his angry reaction to the home fans at the Emirates sparked huge controversy.
Xhaka was booed by the home fans when being substituted, reacting angrily and swearing at the Emirates crowd when leaving the pitch - and later going on to voice how hurt he was to receive online abuse from the club's fans.
However, there now seems like there could be a future in north London for the Swiss midfielder, who has attracted interest from a number of clubs across Europe ahead of the January transfer window, namely Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin.
Xhaka missed Sunday's 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea due to illness but has been back playing for Arsenal, and the new manager sees the 27-year-old as part of his plans for the future.
📺 Here's the incident with Granit Xhaka in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace yesterday
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) October 28, 2019
🤔 What next for the Arsenal captain?#AFC pic.twitter.com/1FcUomnzoG
Asked whether he wants Xhaka to leave, Arteta replied: "I hope not.
"He played at Bournemouth, he played really well, he was very committed, he played a really good game.
"After the game he started to feel ill. He had a temperature and he wasn't feeling good. The last two days he was in bed. That's why he wasn't been selected."
Arsenal threw away a commanding position in a dismal defeat by Chelsea after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal had the Gunners leading into the last 10 minutes.
Bernd Leno's goalkeeping calamity gifted Jorginho the chance to tap into the empty net before Tammy Abraham fired the winner for the Blues.
Leno raced out and flapped at a Chelsea cross from a free-kick, leaving Jorginho free to net a simple equaliser.
That shock goal let Chelsea steal the win and deny Arteta a dream home debut at the Arsenal helm, leaving the new boss to admit he must now rally round his goalkeeper.
"He will be down. When an error costs the team points, it's harder," said Arteta. "We have to lift him. He's done a really good job since he joined this football club and we have to respect that.
"We just need to bring the confidence back in and that's it."
