For many Arsenal fans, Granit Xhaka was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character during his time at the club.
In 2019, he once appeared to tell Gunners fans to ‘f*** off’ when he was substituted, and unsurprisingly he received backlash for it.
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Xhaka was sent off for violent conduct against Burnley’s Ashley Westwood
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He was given his marching orders by the referee following a VAR review
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Frimpong tweeted that Arsenal should sell Xhaka
One incident in particular, however, sparked a reaction from former Gunners man Emmanuel Frimpong, who said the club should ‘sell’ the midfielder.
Xhaka was sent off against Burnley at the end of 2020 for violent conduct, and Frimpong tweeted: “Sell xhaka and get me free.
The Switzerland international has been key for the Gunners this season but Frimpong is unwilling to apologize for his tweet.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “No, I don’t think I owe him an apology because I was tweeting from a fan’s perspective. I wasn’t tweeting as a former player, I was tweeting as a fan, I’m an Arsenal fan.
“If I couldn’t support Arsenal and I supported Southampton, I would talk about the Southampton players. Sometimes when you love a club so much, you get so passionate and angry.
“Sometimes when Arsenal lose, at home I don’t talk to my wife, I don’t talk to my kids because I’m furious that Arsenal lost.
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Former Arsenal midfielder Frimpong was far from impressed
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The Gunners eventually finished eighth this season
“With Xhaka, let’s be honest, at that time Xhaka wasn’t playing really well. He wasn’t influential, he didn’t really do anything for Arsenal. Now that he’s playing well, you don’t see me tweeting that kind of stuff on Xhaka, do you?
Frimpong also tweeted about the state of Arsenal at the time, with Burnley’s result on a run of just one league win from 10 games.
He said: “The fans deserve much better than this c***”, and with the Gunners now on course for a Premier League title, things have clearly improved.
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As an Arsenal fan, Frimpong was far from happy with the club’s form
Frimpong noticed the resurgence shown by Xhaka, with the 30-year-old shining bright in the current campaign.
“Arsenal fans deserved so much more because Arsenal are a top club,” he added.
“At the time, I just felt like with the ambition they were showing at the time, I don’t think it was the size of a club like Arsenal.
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Xhaka is now one of Arsenal’s most important players
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The Gunners could win the Premier League title this season
“Now that they are showing ambition. Sure, Xhaka may have a bad game, but now he’s much more consistent with his football, so I wouldn’t have anything bad to say about Xhaka.
“At the time I was kind of desperate, I wanted to get back there somehow, so I just thought maybe I’d do a little tweet. You never know, they might bring me back like a Sol Campbell!
Frimpong is also optimistic about Arsenal’s title chances this season: “I’m convinced that if Arsenal can beat Everton and beat City, the league will definitely return to the Emirates.”
Everton are next for Arsenal, with talkSPORT providing exclusive live commentary from Saturday’s game at Goodison Park.
Victory for Xhaka and company. would send them eight points clear at the top of the table, with their first Premier League title since 2004 now in sight.
Premier League odds of 7/10 suggest Arsenal are favorites for the title and Frimpong believes the Gunners will go on to win the title this season.
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