The 23-year-old is Arsenal’s fourth most expensive signing ever.
Arsenal ace Granit Xhaka has admitted via The Standard that he is not the quickest of midfielders, but suggests that he can compensate for it with his reading of the game.
The 23-year-old joined the Gunners this summer from Borussia Monchengladbach in a reported £30 million deal, according to Sky Sports.
The Switzerland international has started Arsenal’s last two Premier League games, after starting the 4-3 opening-day defeat by Liverpool on the bench, and his pace – or lack of – did seem to be exposed in the visits to Leicester City and Watford at times.
It is a weakness that Xhaka fully accepts, but the defensive midfielder does believe that he can make up for a perceived lack of speed in other areas of his game.
“What does slow mean? Yes, I know I’m not the fastest with my legs. But I also believe that I’ve been pretty fast with my head,” he said via The Standard.
Arsenal fans probably should not be overly worried by Xhaka’s admission.
Manager Arsene Wenger would have known his limitations when he spent such a vast sum of money on him, making him the club’s fourth move expensive signing in history, and yet the veteran Frenchman still deemed him to be worth it.
It is also worth noting that it may take him time to adjust to the speed of English football, but there are lots of promising signs so far in spite of his sluggish speed
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