Arsenal have got a lot of things right in the transfer market in recent years.
It wasn’t so long ago that fans were frustrated and questioning how the club would operate in the market because it wasn’t progressive.
Despite the size and power of Arsenal, they would even find themselves losing key players to rivals, with the obvious one in recent times being the sale of Robin van Persie joining Manchester United.
But all of that is now a thing of the past because Mikel Arteta has got the team competing for the Premier League title again and it means keeping your best players.
One man who Arteta allowed to leave last summer was the marmite-like figure Granit Xhaka after he secured a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
On paper, this wasn’t a case of Xhaka wanting better things or making a step up, it seemed as though it was for family reasons that he returned to Germany.
And as David Moyes touched upon, it turned out to be an ‘incredible move’ for the midfielder, who is now starring at Euro 2024 with Switzerland.
The former West Ham United manager came up against Xhaka last season when Leverkusen knocked them out of the Europa League.
Xabi Alonso guided the German club to an incredible double, including winning the title unbeaten and Moyes hailed Xhaka’s efforts during the season, as he told Match of the Day on BBC One.
Granit Xhaka after leaving Arsenal
“It has been an incredible move for him,” said Moyes. “He won the Bundesliga and, unfortunately, we (West Ham) got knocked out of the quarter-final of the Europa League with him.
“He was doing really well at Arsenal. He was scoring a few goals and playing a little bit higher. A bit like Declan Rice is playing now for Arsenal.
“But, for Leverkusen, he has played as one of the central midfield players. He has had great experience. Terrific on the ball. He is a strong man as well.”
Declan Rice filling in for Granit Xhaka
Arsenal put a lot of money on the table for Declan Rice and broke their club-record transfer to do so.
At West Ham, Rice played a more defensive role, but at Emirates, he has been able to free himself a lot more and Arteta has used him in the Xhaka role.
It’s up for debate as to whether the Gunners are missing Xhaka. Compared to the previous campaign, they did improve and take the title to the last day.
But it still wasn’t enough and they couldn’t dethrone the trophy-might of Manchester City.
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