Granit Xhaka has endued a lot of troubles this season at Arsenal and just a couple of weeks ago, he was on the brink of leaving the club.
From being banned from the Arsenal squad to being booed by the home support, to hurling abuses at the fans, the Swiss international had seen it all during the span of only a couple of days and it was more or less certain that he would be sold off during the January transfer window.
But then the club chose to sack Unai Emery and bring in Mikel Arteta as their new manager. And it’s safe to say from that day onwards, everything has gone uphill for Granit Xhaka.
The new manager had instantly made it clear that he wanted Granit Xhaka to remain at the club since he was a valuable asset and on Tuesday against Chelsea, he proved to be just that, playing as a make-shift centre-back after David Luiz was shown the red card in the 26th minute.
And talking to the media after the match, Mikel Arteta once again emphasised on the fact that the midfielder has been ever-present and adjustable ever since he’s taken charge of Arsenal.
The manager told the press as quoted by Arsenal.com: “It was a very special game for him[David Luiz] obviously and to get sent off the way he did, he was disappointed, but at the same time he’s proud of his teammates.
“From day one, I spoke with him[Granit Xhaka]. Obviously his mind was a little bit varied after a lot of things that happened to him in his life and his family.
“I tried to convince him that it was the right place for him to play. I wanted to try to give him the opportunity to try to enjoy playing football again. Everything I ask him to do, every training session, he’s like this and is willing to do it.
“Today, I knew the moment I put him there, I don’t know how well he was going to do but he was going to put everything in. He was great.”
Granit Xhaka might still be sold off during the summer transfer window as Mikel Arteta starts his rebuilding process at the Emirates. But during the past couple of matches, he’s shown that with the proper guidance and instructions, he is more than capable of sustaining it at the top level.
