Granit Xhaka has admitted he came close to walking out on Arsenal after he was abused by fans over his X-rated outburst at the Emirates last year.
Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy by Unai Emery after telling fans to "f*** off" as he was jeered during a disappointing a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace in October.
The midfielder also removed his shirt and cupped his ears as he stormed off down the tunnel after being substituted during the match, which the Gunners had led 2-0 after scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes.
At the time it looked as though Xhaka might never play for the club again after his outburst angered supporters, but he has enjoyed a rehabilitation under Emery's successor Mikel Arteta and has regained his regular starting place.
And the 27-year-old says Arteta has restored Arsenal's team spirit as they prepare to take on London rivals Chelsea in Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley.
"Everyone knows what happened with me and the fans – or the fans with me," Xhaka told BT Sport this week. "It was not a good time. It was not a nice time.
"But maybe it was the key because I came back stronger than ever so I learned a lot from this situation. I hope the fans have too.
"I was always saying to myself, but to the fans too, I am a guy that will go 100 per cent each game. The people start to understand me more and more now again.
"I have to be honest - I’m very honest with everyone. I was very, very close to leaving the club. I have, until this moment, I had a great, great time in this football club.
"But after this, I was of course a bit down because I did not expect that from the people from the fans.
"It was never in my mind to leave the club before, but after this happened, of course you think about it."
The Swiss ace said it was Arteta's belief in him that helped him turn things around, after the former Gunners skipper took over from sacked Emery in December.
He also credits his manager with changing the mentality at the Emirates, resulting in recent victories over Liverpool and Manchester City.
"Mikel was the guy," says Xhaka. "He turned me around and gave me a second chance and he showed me he trusted me and I tried to give him everything back.
"Since Mikel came to this club a lot of things have changed. He’s changed the mentality, the spirit, not only for us players but in the group.
"Everyone knows exactly what their job is. We have a clear game plan.
"He prepared us really well against a lot of good teams and yeah, at the moment, it’s like we are back with happiness. Coming to training with happiness. We do amazing work."
