Granit Xhaka has lifted the lid on his Arsenal experience thus far, and has discussed his disciplinary issues
The Swiss midfielder became on of Arsenal’s most expensive signings of all time this summer, after completing a £30m switch from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer.
The 24-year old had a tough start to his Arsenal career, having been involved in the opening-day defeat to Liverpool. Thing seemed to look up quickly, however, and Xhaka scored two screamers against Hull City and Nottingham Forest.
Recent games have seen Xhaka relegated to the bench once again, however, with Wenger admitting that the midfielder still needed time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League.
Another concern for Wenger has been Xhaka’s discipline, with the midfielder having already picked up 4 yellow cards and 1 red card in just 14 appearances, 6 of which have come as a substitute. However, Xhaka feels that this side of his game is one of the reasons that Arsenal signed him, and that to stifle it would be to stifle him as a player :
“Yellow and Red cards are part of what Granit Xhaka is. If you take away my hard playing style, then perhaps I will no longer be the same player, and certainly would not be the player that Arsenal wanted.” he said, according to Bild
Xhaka was also full of praise for Mesut Ozil, who he thinks is one of the best players in the world :
“Mesut has a quality that I personally have never experienced before, he has an absolutely magical left foot. It is fast – even if it does not look like that sometimes. Arsenal are a tremendous team, and he is one of the best in the world.” he said.
Granit Xhaka has quite a left foot himself, with the midfielder pinging balls all across the pitch in a manner reminiscent of Xabi Alonso. Once Wenger gets his wish and Granit Xhaka settles fully into English football, there is no doubt he will be a key player for Arsenal.
