Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been thriving under Mikel Arteta this season. He was the last player to head down the tunnel as most of the traveling fans chanted out his name. Three years after leaving the Emirates Stadium to boos and losing the captaincy, such a reception was unthinkable three years ago, but the events in west London on Sunday highlighted a stunning turnaround in circumstances. Getting here has been a long journey. When Arsenal last played Brentford in February, Xhaka was seen refusing the captain’s armband following Alexandre Lacazette’s late substitute. He later said, “I wasn’t prepared for that.
But this time, with injured Martin Odegaard out, he started wearing it right away as Arsenal won 3-0, returning them to the top of the Premier League. The armband enhanced the occasion’s meaning, but performances ultimately led to his salvation. Xhaka performed admirably against Brentford, just as he has done for the entire season and for a good portion of the previous one as well.
His development is largely attributable to Mikel Arteta’s reconfiguration of his midfield, who was instrumental in persuading Granit Xhaka to remain at Arsenal in 2020. Throughout his time in the Premier League, Xhaka was regarded as a deep-lying midfielder; however, Thomas Partey currently fills that position, with Arsenal’s full-backs—typically Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White—often burrowing inside to offer additional support.
With Odegaard or, in the case of Brentford, Fabio Vieira playing a similar role on the other side, Xhaka has been given the opportunity to advance further for Arsenal. Xhaka has already contributed directly to more goals than in any of the previous three seasons with one goal and three assists, the last of which came in the form of his superb diagonal cross for Gabriel Jesus last Sunday lifted into the Brentford box from precisely the area in which he is now instructed to operate.
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