Xhaka's decision to celebrate against Serbia with an eagle gesture had a meaning which went beyond showing support to his country of heritage
'Provocative', 'outrageous' and a 'political statement'. Those were the terms being labelled at Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri’s goal celebrations against Serbia on Friday, with both players making an Albanian eagle gesture with their hands.
When delving deeper into the world of Arsenal midfielder Xhaka, in particular, the meaning behind his celebration has huge resonance for more sensitive reasons than many would believe.
While Shaqiri was born in Kosovo, just like Xhaka, the similarities don’t stretch as far.