Ian Wright has claimed that Granit Xhaka has ‘risen from the ashes’ at Arsenal and the previously-disgraced captain is now getting ‘even more love from fans’.
The former striker was reacting to Xhaka’s transformation in Arsenal colours after he scored for the club during their 3-1 north London derby win against Tottenham over the weekend.
Prior to Mikel Arteta’s arrival, Xhaka was heading for the exit door at Arsenal with his career in tatters after he was stripped of the club’s captaincy.
It was a dark period of Xhaka’s career and it just seemed obvious that he was going to leave and his battered relationship with the fans wasn’t going to get repaired.
But that’s where Arteta worked his magic because fast forward to the present and the 30-year-old is, on occasions, still donning the armband and fans are now chanting his name.
It has been some turnaround from Xhaka, as Wright also highlighted how Arsenal’s recent All or Nothing documentary paved a positive light on the midfielder as an individual, as he told Premier League Productions (03/10/22 at 2:30 pm).
“I am delighted for him, the way it has gone,” said Wright. “If you put Xhaka in a more defensive role, with that kind of responsibility where he hasn’t got that skill or pace to get away from people, then what we found is that there were silly fouls, bookings and giving the ball away. That’s where he shouldn’t have been playing.
“Thank God, Mikel has found it for him because he is so potent. He is playing in a more advanced position – now we are seeing the best of him. I am pleased for him. It has been a brilliant transformation.
“The thing with fans, and I have to say especially with Arsenal fans, is that they want to forgive a player. They want a player to rise from the ashes, like he has done. Mikel has given him the opportunity to do that.
“Granit has been there for what, six years now? You could count on one hand the number of good games he had because he wasn’t playing in the right place. Now fans are seeing what he can bring and they are seeing a massive value to what Mikel is doing offensively, then of course they are going to turn and like him.
“Watching the Arsenal documentary, people see the kind of player that he is and why certain managers have kept him around the place because he is great around the place – and now he is getting even more love from the fans because we are seeing the best of him.”
ARTETA DESERVES HUGE CREDIT
One thing that has been a constant theme with Xhaka is that from Arsene Wenger to the main in the dugout now, they have all always picked the player.
Whether he is coming back from an injury, he is straight back into the team, he has come back from suspension, once again, he’s straight back in.
That says a lot about Xhaka’s character in the dressing room and how he is a leader of men, even if he no longer dons the armband.
But it would be fitting if he can now continue to play a role in Arsenal returning to the Champions League, winning a trophy and perhaps more success.
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