Granit Xhaka on his exit from Arsenal, Sunderland and success in Germany

Kelly Somers: What is the most difficult point in your career?

Granit Xhaka: I have two hard times. The first was when I moved away from my family for the first time at the age of 19 to Germany. It was very difficult for me. Everyone knows how close I am to my family and how hard it was to be away from them. I didn’t get the minutes I wanted [on the pitch] and I wanted to leave in January after six months, but I had my father behind me. He said: ‘If you leave now, you will always leave, so get down and work.’ I did, and everything changed.

The second part is not a big secret. It was 2019 when I had this… I call it misunderstanding… with Arsenal fans. Two times I think I’ve gotten stronger and better because it’s part of the process. It is part of writing all history. On the other hand, it is very bad. On the other hand, I was lucky to have it.

Kelly: Now you’re back in the Premier League, have you had a chance to reflect on your time at Arsenal? Because you’ve had incredible highs and really hard times…

Granite: Usually, I think people just think about this moment in 2019. But I arrived in 2016, so being part of a football team for seven years makes me proud… it’s not easy to be at this level for seven years. And of course, when I left Arsenal it was a difficult decision for me and my family because we were happy there. But I found another gift on the table when I thought too far [ahead] than now. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be back in the Premier League after two years again. This was not my plan, or our family’s.

Kelly: So you never wanted to come back?

Granite: It’s not that I didn’t want to, but it wasn’t planned. When I left Arsenal, I signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen. So everything was planned about what happened five years later. But I always say in football you never know where you are tomorrow.

Kelly: Why did you come back?

Granite: Even people close to me were saying: ‘Why are you going back to the Premier League to join Sunderland?’ I came back because I love a challenge and I feel that I need a new challenge. After two years in Germany, where in the first year we won almost everything… undefeated in the Bundesliga, we won the cup, we lost in the final of the Europa League, which was very painful. I just had a feeling from the owner when I spoke with them – with the team, with the coach – this is the right club for me, because the people are very humble. A small town like where I grew up. I wanted to come back with the truth that I believe is the right way for me, my family. I’m just happy that everything at the moment is going the way I wanted it to.

Kelly: You must have expected it to go well because otherwise you wouldn’t have come here. But did it exceed your expectations?

Granite: The first thing I said to the team was: ‘I’m not coming here to play in the Premier League for one year and go down, because I’m leaving a Champions League club. I come here to push this project.’

Kelly: I find it interesting, because he must have had other offers to return to the Premier League…

Granite: To be honest it was a busy summer! i am 33, I spoke to my brother and said: ‘I have never found so many things!’ The summer was very busy because every day someone came. But I decided for myself – after 20 minutes on the phone with the owner – I wanted to go to Sunderland. I was very confident.