People need to get a grip, Xhaka’s comments are good for Arsenal. When a player gives an interview it is never a surprise that all sort of outlandish interpretations of what was said is published by the media and that is exactly what has happened with Granit Xhaka.
Apparently, his comments have cast doubt on his long-term future with us and that is just one of the more moderate responses.
First, let’s read what the Switzerland international actually said. ‘I’m very ambitious, I want to take the next step,’ he said. ‘Arsenal does not have to be the last stop.’
Bang, he is leaving us, he wants to sign for a super team somewhere, he wants to earn millions and win every trophy under the sun. OK, I am being a little dramatic but come on, of course, Arsenal does not have to be the last stop, but that in no way means he wants to leave any time soon.
Of course, he is very ambitious, would we want a player that is not ambitious? Every player has ambitions, every player wants to win trophies, what he is saying is mind-blowingly obvious.
Let’s look at some facts, he only signed a five-year contract extension last year and that was when we were only in the Europa League and struggling to get into top-four contention.
Now we are definitely in with a chance of Champions League football and success in the Europa League, point is this, since he signed his huge contract extension things have gotten better at the Emirates and he knows that, why would he sign such an extension if he did not believe we would improve and get more competitive.
I simply do not believe that Xhaka is looking to leave us, I feel his comments have been misinterpreted and that all he was doing was highlighting how ambitious he is, and there is no reason why he cannot achieve all that he wants with us.