Granit Xhaka shares message as he watches Arsenal lose to West Ham United at Emirates Stadium

Granit Xhaka posted a message on his social media after returning to spectate his former team Arsenal in their 2-0 loss to West Ham United.

The Gunners, who were atop the 2023-24 Premier League table on Christmas day, failed to reclaim their spot on Thursday (December 28).

Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos scored on either side of the break to hand the hosts their third league defeat of the campaign.

Xhaka, who left the Gunners to join Bayer Leverkusen in a £22 million deal in July, posted a story on Instagram ahead of the league match:

"Always in my ❤️ @arsenal"

Xhaka, who spent seven seasons at Arsenal between 2016 and 2023, has opened his new club chapter on a positive note. The 31-year-old has emerged as a regular starter for Xabi Alonso's side this campaign, helping them launch a Bundesliga title charge with his stellar outings.

Arsenal, on the other hand, signed two midfielders to strengthen their depth in the summer. They roped in Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in a combined potential £170 million transfer from two London rival teams.

Mikel Arteta opines on Arsenal's recent loss

At a post-match presser, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shared his two cents on his team's 2-0 loss to West Ham. He said (h/t The Guardian):

"I congratulate West Ham and praise my players. That's what I can tell you. This is football. When you look at how much we generated in the game, to see the result is very disappointing. But they were better than us in both boxes. They had two shots, with the penalty three. We had 30. If we don't score with 30 shots, then we have to do 50 or 60 to try to score. That's the only thing."

Queried if the latest home defeat to the Hammers was one of the most frustrating nights of his managerial career, the 41-year-old responded:

"It is. But it's football. Normally when the team generates so much it's going to win games. That's the way we've done it. [In a 2-0 win] against Brighton, we generated so much and [in 1-1 draw] against Liverpool as well, but we score goals in different ways."

In their clash against West Ham, the Gunners relished 74% possession, registered a whopping 30 shots, and completed 679 out of 746 passes.

Arteta's outfit, who are second with 40 points from 19 games, will next visit Fulham in their Premier League clash on Sunday (December 31).