Granit Xhaka has reportedly revealed Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira as his role model and hopes to emulate his idol’s success at the club.
Arsenal fans were excited as they saw the arrival of Swiss international Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach earlier in the summer. The player is expected to provide some steel to the midfield at Arsenal and despite some early hiccups, Xhaka is largely hopeful of making it at the club.
The Swiss international talked to the Premier League’s official website describing how it was his dream to play in the Premier League.
He said,“ It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the Premier League. I always used to watch the games on TV.”
Xhaka came to Arsenal with a reputation of being somewhat of an enforcer in the middle of the park, having seen himself being sent off thrice last season for Gladbach and was recently sent off on international duty as well. The player was asked as to which player he looked up to or which player he considered a role model and he was quick to respond.
“ If I really had to pick one player, it would be Patrick Vieira. He is an idol, a role model, especially here at Arsenal. He was also a world-class player for his national team and he played in the same position as me, so I would pick him,” Xhaka told the website.
Patrick Vieira had a hugely successful career at Arsenal racking a mammoth 279 league appearances during his time at the club and was the captain and leader of the famous Invincibles, the 49-game unbeaten team, yet to be repeated by any other club in the Top 5 European leagues.
Xhaka does have a similar skill-set and is akin to the French legend in terms of their on-pitch behaviour and playing style. He also loves doing the so called ‘dirty work’ for his team covering for the more creative players on the pitch.
The Swiss international though, just like Vieira, on his own, is a technically sound player who loves to produce flashes of brilliance, but is disciplined enough to stay back at most times as per the manager’s instructions.
Vieira was referred to as an aggressive player who provided steel to the Arsenal midfield, and that is what Xhaka has been entrusted to provide, by Arsene Wenger in his current team.
There are a couple of obvious visible differences in the two. Xhaka, for one, is not nearly as tall as the Arsenal legend but has more pace in him than Vieira.
It’s still early days in Granit Xhaka’s career at Arsenal but the player has already aimed high as he looks to emulate Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira at the club. The player seems to have a similar skill-set to Vieira and looks eager to be a success for Arsenal.
Only time will tell if Granit Xhaka is able to establish himself in the Arsenal squad but the Gunners faithful are sure to be happy at the player’s ambition at the club.
