Granit Xhaka explains Arsenal celebration stance ahead of return with Sunderland

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Granit Xhaka will NOT celebrate against Arsenal if he scores against his former side. Xhaka represented the Gunners 297 times after joining from Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Swiss midfielder enjoyed mixed success with the side, helping them to the FA Cup on two occasions. He also had a very public spat with supporters before getting stripped of the club captaincy by Unai Emery.

Xhaka ended up leaving the club as a popular figure after restoring his reputation in North London. Now with Sunderland , the 33-year-old has explained he won't celebrate should he find the net this weekend against his former employers.

Talking to Stan Sport, he said: "I will not celebrate for sure not. Because I had seven years in this football club where I had great times. Out of respect for this football club, I will not celebrate.

"It's normal you have a lot of emotions in the dressing room because to beat Arsenal is a big, big thing. Even more so, how they are at the moment.

"They are very, very strong, a very good team, let's see what happens. We are looking forward for this game and just going step by step, getting the things done what we need to improve and where we need to be very, very good."

Elsewhere, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken out on his reunion with Xhaka this coming weekend. Speaking in his pre-match press conference. He said: "I loved every minute that we spent together.

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"When he joined he was in a special moment in his life and his career. He made me a better coach, he helped us to develop as a football team and as a club and I will be eternally grateful."

After leaving Arsenal, Xhaka enjoyed immediate success with Bayer Leverkusen as he helped the club to the Bundesliga title. He surprisingly joined newly-promoted Sunderland in the summer to return to the Premier League .

Xhaka has shone for Sunderland this season, having played in every single one of their Premier League games, while he also opened his goalscoring account earlier this month in a 1-1 draw with Everton .

Xhaka's former side Arsenal sit top of the Premier League after winning eight of their ten league games so far. Sunderland in the meantime have impressed, with Regis Le Bris' side sitting fourth in the table.

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