Jermaine Jenas has hailed Granit Xhaka having impressed in a more advanced role for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta this season.
The Gunners returned from international duty with a bang as they beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Thomas Partey’s screamer put Arsenal ahead, only for Harry Kane to equalise from the penalty spot for Tottenham.
Gabriel Jesus bundled Arsenal back into the lead and the Gunners took full control after Emerson Royal’s red card.
Xhaka then quickly sealed the win for Arsenal, firing a superb strike past Hugo Lloris to make it 3-1.
Jermaine Jenas has hailed Granit Xhaka
Xhaka was a threat going forward all day long and his goal shouldn’t have come as any sort of surprise.
The Swiss midfielder has been playing in a new role under Mikel Arteta, mostly this year but especially this season.
Arteta has switched from a 4-2-3-1 to play as more of a 4-1-4-1, pushing Xhaka high and wide to really support the attack.
The attacking returns are clear; Xhaka now has two goals and three assists in just eight Premier League appearances this season.
The 30-year-old is contributing going forward more than every before for Arsenal and long may that continue.
Pundit Jermaine Jenas has now rave about Xhaka having covered Arsenal versus Tottenham for BT Sport on Saturday afternoon.
Jenas suggested (12:46) that Xhaka simply ‘must be loving life’ under Arteta because he has so much more freedom to express himself going forward.
Jenas added that Xhaka’s left foot ‘is a problem’ when he’s given the chance to wind up and shoot from range.
Tottenham were given a warning; those comments came after Xhaka had flashed one shot wide of the post but he made no mistake in the second half.
“He must be loving life this year, Granit Xhaka,” said Jenas. “I’ve never seen him play as high as he is right now for Arsenal and when he gets into these positions, his left foot is a problem. He is a goal threat in those positions,” he added.
Xhaka has had his well-documented ups and downs at Arsenal, but this feels like the best we have seen from him, certainly in an attacking sense – and Arteta deserves enormous praise for how he has transformed Xhaka.
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