If anyone said in October 2019 that Granit Xhaka would still be an Arsenal player 30 months later, then no-one, not even the Swiss midfielder himself, would have believed it.
His relationship with fans seemed to be fractured beyond repair, he had been stripped of the captain's armband and both the player and the club wanted a split.
On Saturday, Xhaka was blowing kisses to the Arsenal supporters, as they celebrated his thunderbolt finish against Manchester United - a moment that felt worlds away from the anger on display more than two years prior.