Granit Xhaka's agent has recently revealed that his client agreed contract terms with Hertha Berlin and is willing to leave Arsenal. Thus, Mikel Arteta had to react quickly.
"The first message for him was that I wanted to understand how he was feeling, why he was feeling that way," the Spaniard said as quoted by Sky Sports.
"I wanted him to hear from me my opinion on him, and that I was ready to support him and that I was ready to push the club to be supportive of him too, because I thought he could be a really, really good player for us and he could enjoy playing under me in this football club.
"I tried to convince him that way. He thought about it, he had a very positive response afterwards, and I think he changed his mind."
After Xhaka's outburst at fans in October, the 27-year-old was stripped of the captaincy. He was frozen out of the squad for several games and was ready to leave the club.
This was Xhaka's stance over a month ago:
But Arteta's appointment has changed things for the midfielder. He's now a regular starter and an important member of the team again.
