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Granit Xhaka: Xhak Off?

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BergMan

Betrayed by Xhaka
Granit Xhaka is indeed an Arsenal legend. 200 premier league appearances, nearly 300 in total. 2 fa cups, 2 community shields. Always picked to play, passionate player who plays for the badge, a fighter on the pitch, defends club values.
There are many legends who’ve achieved less.
 

Nunowoolmez

Established Member
Granit Xhaka is indeed an Arsenal legend. 200 premier league appearances, nearly 300 in total. 2 fa cups, 2 community shields. Always picked to play, passionate player who plays for the badge, a fighter on the pitch, defends club values.
There are many legends who’ve achieved less.
I dont know man. Seems a bit of a weak measurement of what it takes to be a legend..

In my opinion, if he won a PL title, then it would certainly add more kudos to the argument for..

I'm just not sure if the word Legend gets used accurately these days.

In my eyes the word Legend should be reserved for players like Adams, Wright, Henry, Bergkamp, (all the invincibles team tbh), Smith & Thomas (Anfield '89), Rocastle, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn, Seaman, even Wiltord (old Trafford). These are the obvious modern era candidates, but clearly there are players from other era befitting of Legend status. George Graham should be considered a Legend as he won trophies as player & won lots as manager.

RVP & Fabregas might have joined the list if they had stayed, but they didn't, so they're not worthy of Legend status in my book.

I'm not even sure Alexis can be considered a Legend tbh.

I think perhaps Xhaka fits more into the cult legend status. His career arc is quite unique for Arsenal & he deserves recognition for his service for sure & his love/hate relationship with the supporters. Other players in this category would be Steve Morrow, Andy Linighan, Paul Davis, Perry Groves & John Jensen, Mertesacker. All for different reasons entirely.

I'm just pleased he's found his niche in the team & is really contributing & playing the best football of his career, so far. Xhaka of old is gone.

Legend ? No, not yet..
 

BergMan

Betrayed by Xhaka
I dont know man. Seems a bit of a weak measurement of what it takes to be a legend..

In my opinion, if he won a PL title, then it would certainly add more kudos to the argument for..

I'm just not sure if the word Legend gets used accurately these days.

In my eyes the word Legend should be reserved for players like Adams, Wright, Henry, Bergkamp, (all the invincibles team tbh), Smith & Thomas (Anfield '89), Rocastle, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn, Seaman, even Wiltord (old Trafford). These are the obvious modern era candidates, but clearly there are players from other era befitting of Legend status. George Graham should be considered a Legend as he won trophies as player & won lots as manager.

RVP & Fabregas might have joined the list if they had stayed, but they didn't, so they're not worthy of Legend status in my book.

I'm not even sure Alexis can be considered a Legend tbh.

I think perhaps Xhaka fits more into the cult legend status. His career arc is quite unique for Arsenal & he deserves recognition for his service for sure & his love/hate relationship with the supporters. Other players in this category would be Steve Morrow, Andy Linighan, Paul Davis, Perry Groves & John Jensen, Mertesacker. All for different reasons entirely.

I'm just pleased he's found his niche in the team & is really contributing & playing the best football of his career, so far. Xhaka of old is gone.

Legend ? No, not yet..

I don’t consider RVP or Fabregas legends in the slightest, not with the way they left.
Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla however, I do put them there.

Why do you have to win the league to be a legend? What about Liam Brady? He’s widely considered an Arsenal legend but never won the league. So too are Pat Jennings, Brian Talbot and Charlie Nicholas.
I don’t know anything about these players I simply looked at the official greatest 50 ever gunners page and these guys were in the top 30 :lol:
So clearly there are many legends that haven’t won the league.
All Liam Brady won for Arsenal was one FA Cup. So Xhaka has achieved more success with Arsenal than Liam Brady.
 

Henry boi

Well-Known Member
Have been very impressed with Xhaka this season and most of the last, he's up there now with Gundogan and a few others as the best no8s in the league, didn't know he had the technique to play that position, pleasantly surprised.
 

Taneruit

Established Member

Country: Switzerland

Player:Zinchenko
He started 192 of the 200 games, and was only subbed off 31 times, meaning he has racked up 16,720 minutes (278 hours) of Premier League action. That’s at least 6,400 minutes (and 42 appearances) more than any other Arsenal player over the same timespan, and puts him in the top 10 for minutes played for all outfield players in the league since he made his debut.

From that point, the Switzerland international also leads the way for us in terms of tackles won (215), free-kicks scored (3), duels won (906), fouls won (213), goals from outside the box (8) and he’s created 199 chances – second only to Mesut Özil. He has also completed more successful passes (12,165) than any other player in the league since he came to England.
 

Erlis

Only Came To See Granit Xhaka

Country: Kosova
I know Granit would never leave a match without a reason, as he is not a person who would let the team down, but he reminded me tonight of Partey of the past. :d Did he eat something spoiled? Hope Arteta will sort that out. :lol:
 

albakos

Arséne Wenger: "I will miss you"
Administrator

Country: Kosova

Player:Saka
I know Granit would never leave a match without a reason, as he is not a person who would let the team down, but he reminded me tonight of Partey of the past. :d Did he eat something spoiled? Hope Arteta will sort that out. :lol:
Probably had few too many slices of flija bro :lol:
 

Riou

In The Winchester, Waiting For This To Blow Over

Country: Northern Ireland

Player:Gabriel
@Jury when Granit went down in the first minute...

rYMsesu0_400x400.jpg



..miss that drunk bastard!
 

Gooner416

Master of Stonks
Trusted ⭐

Country: Canada
Missed him a bit today -- shows quite the level he has sustained this season. Vieira and Zinchenko weren't on his level when they interchanged positionally.
 

BergMan

Betrayed by Xhaka
I Google translated Xhaka’s recent interview with Swiss tabloid Blick for your enjoyment:

At a restaurant, just 15 minutes from the Arsenal campus. Granit Xhaka's hangout. After winning the city derby against Chelsea, the Swiss comes rushing in in a black Arsenal tracksuit. After the city derby we just won against Chelsea, this wears particularly well. There is whispering in the restaurant and some people can say "Good job, Gunners!" don't hold back. Xhaka, the new crowd favorite, is beaming.

You and Arsenal - it's an unbelievable story. They were already sitting on their packed suitcases and wanted to go to Hertha. Now the fans love you.
Granit Xhaka:
Yes, this story is really crazy. That was three years ago when the fans booed me. I was devastated, for me it was clear - if they don't want me here anymore, then my future doesn't lie here.

We remember. At that stage you couldn't please the Arsenal fans.
That was the point. I didn't play that bad at all. But nothing was good enough. It wore me down. Imagine playing a good game, scoring a goal, hoping everything will be fine, that the fans out there are happy. And then you just get insulted again. They just say: get lost, we don't want you anymore. It hurts.

Where did the fans say that? How did that come to you?
On social media.

are you reading this?
Yes, somehow there is no other way. I always get that.

The famous British presenter Piers Morgan also tore you up in the air at the time and made fun of you.
I respect him, nothing more. I try to prove wrong to the people who abuse me without knowing me. That's the strongest reaction I can give. But have a coffee with him? no

So the end was near for Arsenal - and then along came Mikel Arteta.
He was new to Arsenal at the time. In our first conversation I told him that I was going. He just said: «Stay, I will make sure that you deliver top performances. Please give me six months." He told me his ideas and his philosophy.

How exactly did he convince you?
I just knew it would work out with him. For the first time in my life I made a decision all by myself. Without family, without advisor. I called José (Noguera, Xhaka's advisor, editor's note)and told him: José, I just spoke to Arteta and told him we were staying. Point.

Tell us how Mikel Arteta works. What impresses you?
You know what? I had to be 27 to really understand football, that's his credit. Mikel showed me football in a new way. He explains the game, the tactics, the opponent in such a way that all you can do is go out and win. He's a crazy guy.

That sounds like an awakening experience. The football business is fast-paced. Aren't you afraid that at some point Arteta will no longer be Arsenal manager?
The football business is definitely fast-moving, but at the moment I don't see any risk of Mikel leaving the club.

The head of the restaurant comes to the table with the starter, calamari for granite, and speaks a few sentences in Albanian with him. He greets us with a warm “Grüeziwohl!”. He lived and worked in Frauenfeld in the 1990s. Those were great years. Switzerland is a wonderful place. Granit Xhaka will captain Switzerland to the World Cup in a few days.

Apparently you told Murat Yakin (Swiss head coach) that this team was ready for a title.
(Laughs.) That was during our first conversation after his appointment as national coach when he asked me if the team was fed up after the success at the World Cup and how I saw the potential. This is my opinion. We have developed enormously since I first played for the A-Nati eleven years ago.

Does that mean you say it again?
What?

That's what you always say before a tournament. Already in 2009 before the U17 world championship title.
Aha, that I'll take enough clothes with me until the final. Yes, of course. We have to have visions and think big.

You will take enough clothes to the final. What else should not be missing in your travel bag?
My «recreation package». I'm not twenty anymore. I have to take care of my body.

What's in this package?
Pajamas that promote regeneration. A pair of glasses you can put on to come down. Such things. They showed us all that stuff here at Arsenal.

Back to the tournament in Qatar: will we see the best national team ever?
I hope so, even if comparisons between generations are very difficult. We have players who play an important role in strong leagues, in good teams.

Explain your relationship with Murat Yakin. For a while it seemed explosive.
Do you think ...?

Yes. Your statement about the position Yakin lets you play was profound. And you didn't enjoy being substituted in the Kosovo game either.
That's correct. I would have liked to have completed my 100th game. Apart from that, I have great respect for Murat's work. I was a ball boy when he was still playing. He fascinated me even then. With his appearance, with his charisma. We are both very direct and have clear opinions. But we have no problem with each other.

In fact, you've been in the headlines at every tournament so far. In 2014 you played in the wrong position at the World Cup in Brazil. In 2016 you missed the decisive penalty in the penalty shoot-out against Poland at the European Championships in France. In 2018 the Serbia game and then the lack of emotionality against Sweden in the round of 16 in Russia...
Yes, I always gave you good stories (laughs) . Everything went well in the Serbia game. Except for the double eagle. I shouldn't have done that.

Were you overwhelmed by the charged atmosphere and the hate that was thrown at you?
You know, I've had two blackouts in my career. One in the game with Arsenal at Crystal Palace when I was booed and in that game against Serbia when I made that gesture.

His emotionality is explainable. His father was in Serbian captivity for three years.
What my father experienced is something you wouldn't wish on anyone. To this day I only know half of this terrible story. When I was twenty, I wanted to know every detail. I asked and asked until my father just ran away because he couldn't take it anymore. Now I know I have to be careful. That was a bad time for him.

Now you're playing against Serbia again at the World Cup. Will your father Ragip be at the stadium?
No, he stays at home. All my family won't be there.
 
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