Granit Xhaka in action for Arsenal in Premier League©AFP
Granit Xhaka marked his potential farewell appearance for Arsenal with two goals as the Premier League runners-up ended the season with a 5-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday. Xhaka was reportedly set to join German club Bayer Leverkusen in the close season after seven years in North London. Should the Swiss midfielder leave the Emirates Stadium anyway, he went out on a high note after scoring twice in the first half. While Xhaka’s impending departure had not yet been confirmed, the huge cheers that greeted his name before kick-off reinforced the feeling that this was his last appearance at Arsenal. The loving farewell from the supporters was testament to Xhaka’s remarkable turnaround after he infamously cursed at the crowd during a match with Crystal Palace in 2019 – an incident that saw him stripped of the captaincy.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior were also on track to ensure Mikel Arteta’s men entered the off-season on a high note after the pain of their failed title bid.
Last weekend’s defeat at Nottingham Forest had handed the title to Manchester City after the Gunners tucked away their lead in the final weeks of the season.
Xhaka opened the scoring against Wolves in the 11th minute with a close range header from a Gabriel Jesus cross.
After a group party with his teammates, the Swiss international held out his hands as a thank you to the home fans in Clock End.
Xhaka scored again three minutes later as Wolves captain Max Kilman cut the ball into his path for a cool finish from six yards out.
He celebrated his ninth goal of the season, the best goal of his career, by running for injured midfielder Mohamed Elneny, the only player still with the club when he joined in 2016.
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