Granit Xhaka on the end of an Arsenal dig by team-mate Jeremie Frimpong during celebrations of Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title win – as Gunners’ Premier League hopes suffer major blow after defeat by Aston Villa

Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong aimed a dig at Granit Xhaka during the celebrations of his side’s Bundesliga title win on Sunday. 

Bayer secured their first-ever title with a 5-0 victory at home to Werder Bremen, as goals from Victor Boniface, Florian Wirtz and the Swiss international sparked jubilant scenes at the BayArena. 

Xhaka’s arrival at the club last summer has coincided with a stunning season for the side, who are still yet to taste defeat in any competition.

In the 31-year-old’s final 12 months in north London he came agonisingly close to winning the Premier League. 

On Sunday, he went on better and his team-mate Frimpong couldn’t but remind him of that fact following their historic achievement. 

WARNING: Explicit language.

Jeremie Frimpong (right) poked fun at his team-mate Granit Xhaka (left) during celebrations of Leverkusen’s title win

Xabi Alonso’s post-match press conference was interrupted by his players as the celebrations kicked into gear

There were wild scenes in the BayArena after Leverkusen claimed their first-ever Bundesliga title

 ‘Granit, you came from Arsenal and you won it here! My f***ing G!’ The Netherlands international said on Instagram live. 

Xhaka’s career comeback, which began under Mikel Arteta, has been extraordinary. The defensive midfielder was much maligned when he first moved to the Premier League for his poor decision-making and rash tackles. 

The situation reached boiling point when, in a match against Crystal Palace in 2019, he threw off his armband in response to jeers from the home crowd and was subsequently stripped off the captaincy and exiled from the matchday squad.

Remarkably, Xhaka forced his way back into the side and was a crucial part of Arteta’s side, who were Manchester City’s closest challengers last term. 

In seven seasons, he made 297 appearances for the Gunners before his £21.5million switch. 

But as good as he was last season, Xhaka’s form has gone to another level under Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen. The midfielder has started every game in the league and has scored twice. 

Arsenal’s bid to better last season’s second-place finish suffered a major blow after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa

Granit Xhaka gave Leverkusen a two-goal lead with a stunning long range effort on Sunday

Players and staff celebrated the historic feat in front of the jubilant home crowd following the 5-0 triumph over Werder Bremen

Leverkusen’s bid to win an historic treble continues with the second-leg of the Europa League quarter-final against West Ham. Alonso’s side take with them to London a two-goal advantage. 

The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions also have the German Cup final to look forward to on May 25, when they face second-tier side Kaiserslautern.