Granit Xhaka played a remarkable game for Arsenal against Manchester United during the weekend and the midfielder was easily one of the standout players on the pitch for the Gunners.
Only a couple of weeks ago, the player’s career seemed to be over at the club after he verbally abused the home support following which Unai Emery chose to freeze him out of the side.
But slowly and surely he has come back into the first Xi and against United, the Swiss international showed exactly what he is capable of and why Mikel Arteta rates him do highly.
There had been numerous reports that Granit Xhaka had been planning to move out of the Emirates during the January transfer window and possibly head to the Serie A but now it seems like all those plans need to be shelved.
Arsenal’s new boss Mikel Arteta made it clear that Granit Xhaka is a really important player for Arsenal and that he has asked the management not to sell him off.
The manager told in his press conference: “I had a conversation with him and I wanted to understand his feelings. That’s first, and his reasoning why he was thinking it probably wasn’t the right place for him to continue his career.
Granit Xhaka’s game by numbers vs. Man Utd:
100% final third pass accuracy
93% pass accuracy
8 ball recoveries
5/5 long balls
3 fouls suffered
3 tackles won
2 interceptionsOne of his best performances in an Arsenal shirt. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/3F85zkKf80
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 1, 2020
“I gave him my opinion, my perspective, and I told him that I was ready to support him from the club perspective, and I wanted his team-mates to have his back to help him to change his mind. We need him.
“I believe that if we’re able to do that, the fans will respond in a positive way. I’ve seen him act every day, how he trains and how he lives his profession, as well as the quality of the player.
“I think he could be a really important player for the club. From my perspective, I don’t want him to leave. I said no to the club and I said no to him! After, in life, I cannot control what happens.”
Granit Xhaka has clearly shown flashes of brilliance during the current season but the midfielder will now have to be consistent enough to not only keep his place in the starting line-up but also to win the faith of the Arsenal support.
