BALTIMORE, Md. (MD) -- Granit Xhaka rarely holds anything back, and he isn't about to start now. The 29-year-old is as robust in the tackle as he is in an interview chair, a no-nonsense character whose passion and drive have inadvertently taken him to some contentious places during his six years at Arsenal. Managers have come and gone, his relationship with supporters has ebbed and flowed dramatically, but Xhaka remains a constant presence in the team. Another season; another new start.
The Switzerland international sits down for an exclusive chat with ESPN at Arsenal's team hotel in Baltimore, the Sagamore Pendry, located on Recreation Pier in the city's Inner Harbour, fresh from a summer vacation in which he visited Albania to see close family members for the first time in almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.