Granit Xhaka is set to begin Saturday’s north London derby as Arsenal‘s longest-serving first-team player.
Considering the controversies, the cards and the chequered relationship with supporters that have defined and dogged his Arsenal career, Xhaka’s longevity is remarkable. The 3-0 win over Brentford before the international break was Xhaka’s 118th competitive appearance for the club since the infamous armband-throwing incident against Crystal Palace three years ago this month.
Xhaka’s durability brings to mind Leonardo Di Caprio’s depiction of the infamous fraudster Jordan Belfort in the film Wolf of Wall Street. “I’m not leaving!” barks Di Caprio to his work colleagues over and over again when conventional wisdom would have him walking out of the door instead. Xhaka has frequently appeared to be on the verge of moving elsewhere, only to stay where he is.
Not only is the Swiss a fixture in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI, but he is also one of the most influential members of a team being tipped by some to challenge for the Premier League title. Xhaka, who turned 30 on Tuesday, has delivered a level of performance that many supporters, Arsenal or neutral, assumed he was incapable of.
“We’re seeing Xhaka becoming an Arsenal favourite, that’s how much it has turned around,” says Martin Keown. “The age he’s at, he fits perfectly in this team to give that extra experience. He’s got to keep performing, play at a higher level to stay in this group, but the group is bringing the best out of him right now.”
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Xhaka’s improved performances have been particularly notable given he has played in a different role. Although Arteta has tended to use the same 4-2-3-1 formation as in previous years, Xhaka has popped up in more advanced areas, in part due to the fluid positioning of Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko: Odegaard drops in from his No 10 berth to accompany Thomas Partey in the middle, while Zinchenko plays more centrally than a typical full-back.
Zinchenko’s dislodging of the more orthodox left-back Kieran Tierney and Partey’s good form have freed up Xhaka. From 2019-20 until 2021-22, Xhaka played a minimum of 27 league games and managed a goal and two assists in all three seasons: he already has one goal and three assists in the first seven appearances of 2022-23. And while it is a small sample size, Xhaka is creating more chances per game than in any other Premier League season.
“He’s now found a niche for himself in the midfield,” Keown adds. “He’s been able to express himself and get forward more, show what he’s capable of. He’s finding himself in forward positions, breaking from midfield, understanding that when Zinchenko comes into midfield [he needs] to get out wide left, and [showing] good intelligence. That is causing problems for their opponents.”
According to Zesiger, he is used in a similar way by Murat Yakin for the Swiss national team. “For Switzerland, he has Remo Freuler [recently bought by Nottingham Forest] and he can close spaces very well which means Granit has less defensive work and is less prone to taking a yellow card. Freuler does the dirty work, a bit like Thomas Partey for Arsenal.
“Xhaka said it himself he doesn’t really like that deep role. He is playing higher up for Arsenal now as well almost as an 8 or 10. He moves into the left channel and doesn’t really drop that much. That’s the role that suits him best.
“I knew he could do more. We saw it at Gladbach, we saw it at Basel and it seems like Arteta has really found the right recipe in terms of roles around him to suit his playing style.”
Zesiger is unsurprised to see him thriving as a box-to-box player given that’s where he made his name for FC Basel as a teenager. “He broke through at the age of 17 and was already a very confident player. He was comfortable on the ball, he wanted the ball.
“There was an away game at Old Trafford in the Champions League. Man United led by 2-0 at half-time and in the second half Granit took over. There was one specific thing where he went past a defender, I don’t think it resulted in a goal but it was that 18-year-old Granit who did things others didn’t. It burned in my brain because it oozed confidence and composure. Granit was just something else [at that age]. Basel turned the game around [it finished 3-3] and Granit was the main reason why.”
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Swiss fans also took time to warm to Xhaka says Zesiger who recalls the outcry that accompanied the midfielder’s ill-advised decision to get his hair dyed before Euro 2020 at a time when the country was still under Covid-19 enforced restrictions. But Xhaka’s rousing talk to his teammates during their close-fought defeat against Spain in the Euros quarter-final helped to alter perceptions.
Xhaka’s unforeseen redemption has been one of the high points of Arsenal’s season so far. Another impactful display against Spurs will only serve to enhance his popularity at the Emirates.
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