Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is already setting Bundesliga records after leaving the Premier League giants for table-topping Bayer Leverkusen.
In a battle between last season’s overachievers and this years’s pacesetters, Bayer Leverkusen wasted no time in deepening the gloom surrounding Union Berlin. A 4-0 hammering extended Leverkusen’s outstanding, historic start to the new campaign, with Granit Xhaka the steering wheel in Xabi Alonso’s speeding sportscar.
The former Arsenal captain has been a huge presence both on and off the pitch at the Bay Arena, goalkeeper and skipper Lukas Hradecky highlighting the vast experience and natural-born leadership ability Xhaka has brought with him to North Rhine Westphalia.
Granit Xhaka shining after Arsenal exit
The Swiss international was a stand-out performer again this weekend. In fact, his tally of 158 touches was the most of any player in Germany’s top flight this season, capping a performance legendary BILD reporter Raimund Hincko described as ‘incredible’.
“When you’ve got good players alongside you, in this case Granit, it makes things easier for you,” Exequiel Palacios, the 31-year-old’s ever-improving midfield partner, tells the Bundesliga website.
“You know if you give him the ball, he’ll pass it back well or even better. I think there was a connection within the first few games, (in the) first few training sessions. If he steps out of position, I know I need to move in. If I go, he comes. Or we pass between ourselves.
“Without even talking much to Granit, I think it just needs a look and we know each other well. Playing alongside a player with such a big career, it always makes you better.”
Bayer Leverkusen top of the Bundesliga
Under head coach Xabi Alonso – an elite midfielder in his own playing days – Leverkusen have now levelled Bayern Munich’s all-time record by picking up 31 of a possible 33 points at the start of a new campaign (BBC Sport).
Carry on like this and that cruel ‘Neverkusen’ nickname will soon become a thing of the pre-Xhaka past.
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