Granit Xhaka – A dream come true for him and the Arsenal fans!

We can all feel the relief that the deal didn’t fall through but we sincerely hope that this is nowhere near the end of our summer business….

So here is Granit Xhaka’s first ever Arsenal Media interview in full…..

Granit, welcome to Arsenal. How does it feel to be an Arsenal player?

I am very happy to be here. It’s a dream come true and I’m happy.

You’ve said before that England is your dream and you have not hidden that fact. Why is it so important for you to play here?

I remember I was young and the first game I watched was in the Premier League. It’s a big dream for me and now that I’m here I am very, very happy.

What do you like most about Arsenal?

I like so much. I like the style of football in the Premier League. It’s aggressive and I like the way Arsenal play football. It’s not like other countries but it’s very nice here.

You say it’s aggressive, and every game in the Premier League is a fight…

Yes, it’s a fight. I like that but Arsenal can also play football and that’s very good.

Is the Premier League similar to the Bundesliga in many ways?

I don’t think it’s the same. In Germany you can play aggressively but the referee will always blow his whistle, but in England that’s not the case. That’s better for me.

How would you describe your playing style?

I like to play football. I’m an aggressive player and also a leader. I’m only 23 but I captained a good team in Germany.

Ottmar Hitzfeld says you’re like a young Bastian Schweinsteiger…

If Ottmar Hitzfeld says that then it’s a big compliment. Ottmar is a big coach and a good gentleman. I don’t know if I’m a young Schweinsteiger, I’m another player. I am Granit Xhaka.

How much did being captain at Borussia Monchengladbach help you become a leader?

When I was younger, even though I had a big brother, my parents would give me the house key every day. It’s in my head that I am a leader and captaining Monchengladbach was very good for me.

Arsenal finished second last season. Do you feel as though they’re on the cusp of great things?

Of course. I’ve looked at Arsenal before, on every weekend, and I know they are a big club. This year they finished second and that was a very good season.

Could they finish first next year?

I hope so!

———————–

Well his English seems pretty good considering he has played in Germany for the whole of his career so far. Maybe he will settle in very very quickly……

And here is the official announcement from Arsenal.com.

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Granit Xhaka to join the club on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old Swiss midfielder arrives from Borussia Monchengladbach, who he captained to fourth place in the Bundesliga last season and Champions League qualification in the past two seasons.

Xhaka, who has made 41 international appearances for Switzerland, joined Borussia Monchengladbach in 2012 from his hometown club FC Basel where he spent 10 years, progressing through the youth ranks.

During his time with Basel, Xhaka won two Swiss League titles and the Swiss Cup in a Double-winning season in 2011/12.

Arsène Wenger said: “Granit Xhaka is an exciting young player, already with good Champions League and Bundesliga experience.

“We have been watching him for a long time now and he is a player who will add quality to our squad. We wish Granit a good Euro 2016 with Switzerland and look forward to welcoming him to Arsenal ahead of next season.”

Get in!!!!

Tags confirmed Xhaka

21 Comments

  1. And to think he gave us the answer to the test months ago but we thought is was a joke or him just angling for a move to England. The article where he said he had a conversation with Coquelin about getting the #34 and Coquelin ok with taking another one…

  2. I strongly feel Morata is coming as well. It only makes sense from Wengers comment about Giroud being the first choice striker for next season. All the strikers fans been crying out for there is no way Giroud would have benched them and Morata is up and coming while Giroud is about to join the 30 and over club.

  3. #WelcomeHome Xhaka, looking forward to see you @emirates, alongside Ozil and Santi, WoW that mid field. Is Morata on board??

  4. I am glad arsenal have taken strides to secure a top class talent.

    this guy is a leader and does not seemed he will be bullied.

    I wonder , why not convert alexis to a striker and buy a winger? like rues or mahrez?

    I know people have been critizing Morata, but i feel he has the skill set to actually succeed and make our front line more fluent. Yes he scored onlt 7goals blah blah, but he is behind dybala and manzukic.

    Imagine Morata getting fed by ozil and Santi, im certain he will convert.

    Id personally like lukaku and so would 90% of us fans, will it happen? time shall tell.

    Nice Start Arsene….dont stop now though another str,cb in the bag..we should then be alright. I havent mentioned rw/lw, as i feel with more confidence in campbell and gametime we’ll be fine.

    COYG

    1. Morata just costs too much for me. Lacazette is the much better finisher and he’s much cheaper. We need a prolific finisher and Morata is not that player. He has the potential, but for 50mill (thats what Real Madrid want) there should be more of a guarantee. Lukakau, idk, not convinced. He disappears too often and doesn’t do much in the big games against better defenses. We must get somebody though and cannot stop at Xhaka 😀

  5. I have a feeling that a striker is coming. And it’ll be an upgrade to Giroud. Hoping my feelings turns out right.

    Meanwhile, Xhaka is in the building!

  6. time will tell how good he is but is he going to get in team with Wenger’s favourite Ramsey there or Wilshere. The above 2 gibbs,walcott,giroud,ox, scz, unless these jokes are thrown on the scrapheap nothing is going to change.

    Everyone knows Money talks in the market not the bloody insulting 40+1pound bids but more so the outright 40/50mill bids, A top striker and centre back and then we will see.

    1. Jack played just 2 games. But people like you will blame him even for the other 35 league games he didn’t play in. If a guy like Jack goes to City and stay fit you all will be same fans that will criticise the manager for selling him.
      Jack has just bn unlcky with injuries. Even after missing the entire season he still looked better than most of our midfielders and that says alot. Welcome mr Xhaka

      1. similar thing was said last year then he missed the whole season. Easy money he’ll miss the most of next season. 30mill for a guy who plays less than 5 games a season, any other club would take it. Ontop of that we’re pretending Jack is worldclass when his last good season was when he was a teenager. Either way it’s pointless to debate since he’s untouchable with Wenger there.

  7. What I can find on Xhaka is very promising. Let’s hope he will take to the PL fast. He might be a near future captain since we have no leaders on our team. For the money Wenger spend on him, he surely sees him as a starter. Question is at who’s expense? Coq? Elneny?

    Now let’s focus on a bigger needs. Striker and Central Defender.

    I would take most of the strikers that have been mentioned on this site including Morata. The one thing I “could not handle” is an other year of Giroud.

    1. The best team for now seem to be
      ————-Cech——————-

      Belll———–Gabrielle——-Boss——-nacho

      ———-Xhaka——–cazorla————-

      jack————-0zil————–Sanchez

      —————Giroud——————

      Hopefully it looks more like

      ———————–Cech———————

      Bell——-Howedes———-Boss———-nacho

      ————Xhaka———cazorla————–

      Jack————–Ozil————-Sanchez

      ————– Higuain———————-

      If wenger gets us 3 players i wont ask for more. 3 quality players. one down and 2 to go.

        1. yah, he’s too much, we’d have to break our transfer record by quite a bit if we wanted him. Even Aubameyang might be cheaper. If we want someone who is better than Giroud and available we should be looking into Lacazette. Scores bundles of goals and only a little over 30mill. Yeah, he came from the same league as Giroud, but he’s had multiple great seasons. Imagine him pairing up with Ozil. This guy can actually finish chances.

  8. what a great signing, hard working classy kid that will contribute for a long time, we need to strengthen the central defense, and finally please a 20 gps striker up top, then you are positioned to win the league, such a strong balanced team, need that pure scorer, giroud can come off the bench,

  9. Diarby Wilshere (injuries)
    Arteta Flamini Kalstrom
    Coquelin Elneny Ramsey
    Cazorla Song Fabregas
    have all been tried in the deep lying play maker role
    over the past 5 years with variable success.
    We can but hope we will have better luck with Xhaka.

  10. I will like wenger to take his chances with morata, he has learnt a thing or two playing in Spain (skills, pace and technique), Italy (physicality and technique), all he needs to so is to work on his finishing and he’s going to fire us to the first epl title in 12 years, he’s definitely not a finished product but he can improve if he’s hungry for success which I think he is.

  11. Welcome Granit Xhaka, probably arsenal captain in 2 years, you have been a missing ingredient at arsenal for several years now, i have no doubt that the title will return to us soon.

    BOOM XHAKA XHAKA

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