Granit Xhaka and Ben White are two ‘lower-profile’ stars of Arsenal’s Premier League title push this season. But the Gunners pair have ‘seriously’ impressed Troy Deeney.
The midfielder and defender have played leading roles in Mikel Arteta’s plans at Emirates Stadium so far this term. Xhaka and White have both started in each of Arsenal’s top-flight fixtures. While both have also reinvented their approach to top the table after 28 matches.
Arteta has moved White to right-back with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes the north London club’s favoured centre-half pairing. He had signed the 25-year-old from Brighton & Hove Albion for £50m in 2021 to play beside Gabriel and White performed well in the role.
But an injury-plagued 2022 for Takehiro Tomiyasu and the emergence of Saliba saw Arteta switch White to right-back. It has since proven to be a masterstroke as the Poole-born star has been one of the top-flight’s best in the position with his work at both ends of the pitch.
Arteta has reinvented Xhaka and White at Arsenal this season
Xhaka, too, has taken on new duties with Arteta asking the Swiss to play a box-to-box role for Arsenal. The 30-year-old had previously served a deeper-lying role under the Spaniard. But his play on the left-hand side has helped them create overloads in and around the box.
The midfielder has further scored four goals and laid on five assists with his most-creative campaign for the club yet. Xhaka had previously only scored more than two in a season in 2018/19 with four goals. He had also only scored once in each of the past three campaigns.
Only in 2017/18 when Xhaka recorded seven has he offered more assists in a season, too, since joining in 2016. Arsene Wenger brought the Switzerland captain to Emirates Stadium from Borussia Monchengladbach for £35m. Xhaka has since enjoyed 216 top-flight outings.
Low-profile Xhaka and White have blown Deeney away
White and Xhaka’s efforts in Arsenal’s push to lift the Premier League title have impressed Deeney greatly. Yet the former Watford captain has now hinted that both players can still slip under the radar. He feels neither has claimed a high profile in their club’s strong term.
“A couple of lower-profile players have seriously impressed me, “Deeney said in a column for The Sun. “Granit Xhaka was pretty much a hate figure among Arsenal fans a couple of years ago. He could have left, or the club could have bombed him out.
“But [the] club and player showed ‘cojones’ again. The Swiss midfielder has been excellent this season. Then there’s Ben White, signed from Brighton for £50m primarily as a centre-half. He has reinvented himself as a right-back and has made himself [their] first choice.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
