Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed how he managed to convince Granit Xhaka to continue at the club despite rumors linking him to an exit. The Gunners have traveled to Switzerland for their opening fixture of the Europa League against FC Zurich.
The Spaniard was asked this question in his pre-match presser following Xhaka’s impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign. The Swiss international has been a glue for Arsenal in midfield and has done well on both attacking and defensive fronts.
He has been given the freedom to move higher up the pitch in the final-third and has been popping up in the box much more frequently this season. The midfielder has used that to his advantage, contributing one goal and two assists in his six Premier League appearances this season.
However, it wasn’t long ago that the Arsenal midfielder was about to leave the club. It happened back in 2019, when Xhaka fell out with the fans after he was booed off the pitch in a game against Crystal Palace. He admitted in The Players’ Tribune that his ‘bags were packed’.
But Arteta, who took over from Unai Emery, managed to convince him to stay. Then again, last summer, Calciomercato linked Xhaka with a move away from the Emirates to AS Roma and were confident of it moving across the line. However, Xhaka ended up staying again.
On how he convinced the 29-year-old to stay, the Arsenal boss said, via Football London:
“I gave him my opinion about the situation and I tried to explain the reason why I thought leaving at that moment wasn’t the best idea. Knowing his character and how he is, I thought he would recreate it. After that day by day, he has earned the respect of everybody at the club and all our supporters and he’s playing really well for us.”
Credit to Xhaka for repairing his broken bond with the Gunners faithful, something that has also resulted in his return to form.
Arsenal midfielder targeting Europa League triumph
Granit Xhaka came very close to lifting the Europa League trophy back in 2019, when the Gunners faced Chelsea in the the final in Baku. However, the game ended in a disappointing 4-1 defeat for Arsenal, who will try to right their wrongs this season.
Xhaka is aiming for an ambitious run that he wishes would conclude with the Europa League medal. Speaking before the game against FC Zurich, he said, via the Independent:
“(I was) Very disappointed, first of all, because when you get to the final you want to win it, for sure, but you can only learn about this. Three years later, we are still here now in the Europa League – and it’s time to win.” We want to start well in a new competition, in the Europa League and we want to take the three points back to London.”
Arsenal remain at the top of the Premier League after winning five out of their six games and will take on Everton next at home on Sunday, September 11.