First, a caveat and a very significant one.
After long establishing a reputation for being a loose canon for the Gunners, a hothead who persistently undermined their endeavours by self-destructing on the pitch, Grant Xhaka has transformed himself as a player this term, in doing so becoming a pivotal presence in a most unexpected title hunt.
Reimagined in a more advanced role, the Swiss midfielder has been largely brilliant all season, keeping Arsenal ticking, always keeping them on the front foot.
Indeed, no player can take greater credit for Mikel Arteta’s men finding themselves priced as narrow favourites in the football betting to lift the Premier League trophy come May. It would be the club’s first title for two decades.
If 2022/23 is potentially his zenith in a Gunners shirt however, it is all-too-easy to recall his nadir, a bizarre act of petulance that had him angrily gesticulate to Arsenal fans on being subbed at the Emirates in October 2019.
With the team struggling under Unai Emery, another underwhelming display brought tensions to boiling point so the crowd were understandably miffed on seeing their captain trudge off the pitch at a snail’s pace with half an hour to play.
They wanted to get on with the game, in search of a winner.
In traditional manner therefore they booed Xhaka which only prompted the player to slow down his gait further, whirring his arms around to encourage louder barracking and all the while mouthing expletives in their direction.
The midfielder completed his ridiculous strop by cupping a hand to his ears, taking off his shirt and walking straight down the tunnel.
In a move that felt inevitable the club felt compelled to strip their human brainfart of his captaincy, with many believing his departure was nailed on too.
He didn’t. He stayed, and to go from that extreme to now being viewed as a key member of a title-contending side is quite an accomplishment, one that speaks well of his resilience. That’s the caveat.
All the same, if his antics that day were a low-point for a player who has always divided the Emirates faithful, it was not the end of his stupidity, consequently getting sent off for the fourth and fifth time in his Arsenal career, both times to great cost.
A red card with his side two down at Manchester City in August 2021 brought a withering response from Alan Shearer on Match of the Day who called his reckless challenge on Joao Cancelo for what it was.
“All he’s said to his team-mates is ‘sorry you’re on your own I don’t feel this today’.”
Later that season, the Gunners were at Anfield for a League Cup semi-final first-leg, a fixture that demands a unified front, a one-for-all spirit. It’s also the kind of fixture that has those in the know rushing to the live betting markets, backing Granit Xhaka to have a meltdown.
Which he precisely did, lashing out when the last man and duly getting his marching orders.
There is taking one for the team, and there is leaving your team in the proverbial manure. This was definitely the latter.
Anfield was also the venue that recently hinted that perhaps the Swiss drama-merchant hasn’t fully changed his ways after all.
Two goals up in a crucial clash that could ultimately inform their title bid, Xhaka needlessly got involved in an altercation – or more accurately, sought it out – with Trent Alexander-Arnold that whipped the home crowd into a frenzy.
Two minutes later, a revived Liverpool pulled one back.
That’s the thing with stupid. Suppress it all you like with character and good-meaning, but it never really leaves you. It’s always there, bubbling and babbling beneath the surface.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
