Xhaka expresses relief at exiting Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen

Several years ago, he was appointed captain by boss Unai Emery, only to later fall out with the fans and subsequently lose his captaincy.

But he then went on to play a starring role in Mikel Arteta’s team that nearly won a league title two seasons ago.

"My wife was there for the first meeting with Leverkusen," he said during an Amazon Prime documentary on Leverkusen’s last season, which saw them win the Bundesliga unbeaten. 

"I wanted to know how she felt."

He added: "It was pure relief for me. I said: 'Yes! It’s not just me who feels that way, but the family too'."

"I was lucky enough to be booed in 2019, as captain at Arsenal, in front of 60,000 fans," he elaborated. 

"I say lucky because that made me brutally strong.

"I’m grateful that I got out of there. Because it was a dark day for my family, my wife and my parents. I think it was even harder for them than it was for me."