Granit Xhaka wore the Arsenal jersey for seven years - now the Swiss will welcome his former club as Sunderland captain. It will be a game full of emotion for the 33-year-old.
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- Granit Xhaka will captain Sunderland against his former club Arsenal on Saturday - an emotional clash after seven years with the Gunners.
- Sunderland are surprisingly in fourth place in the Premier League, and Xhaka is central to the promoted side's success as a leading player and key transfer.
- League leaders Arsenal arrive with an impressive defensive record, having gone eight competitive games in a row without conceding a goal.
Arsenal will be looking to continue their impressive start to the Premier League season on Saturday when they face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. The Gunners are top of the table with 25 points, six points ahead of Manchester City after 10 games.
Premier League promotion contenders Sunderland are already in fourth place: "If someone had said we would be here with 18 points after ten games, they would have been laughed at. But we knew what the club was building here, what it was aiming for. Where we are now is well deserved," Granit Xhaka told The Athletic.
In the last Premier League game, the team drew 1-1 at home to Everton, with Xhaka himself equalizing shortly after the break. After three assists this season, it was the first league goal for the Swiss.
Xhaka has been the leader of the Black Cats since day one. No wonder Régis Le Bris immediately made him captain. "A player like Granit with his previous experience is incredibly important for us," enthused the coach, emphasizing: "He sets standards." Le Bris already describes the record-breaking Swiss international as his "second coach" and "coach on the pitch". For TV pundit Jamie Carragher, Xhaka is even "the transfer of the year". "Is there anyone in the Premier League who has such an influence? Hardly," says the Liverpool legend. The Basel man hasn't missed a minute yet.
The pessimistic voices that accompanied his transfer - Sunderland boss Kyril Louis Dreyfus put €15 million on the table - from Champions League contenders Leverkusen to Premier League newcomers have fallen silent. "I didn't expect to come back after my time in Germany, but you never know where you'll end up," said Xhaka of his triumphant Premier League comeback. "The fact that I'm back makes me happy. I knew that this project was about using my experience and teaching the lads something every day," says the 33-year-old.
Xhaka will now face Arsenal on Saturday. A special match for him: Xhaka played a total of 225 Premier League games for the Gunners between 2016 and 2023, 113 of them under current coach Mikel Arteta. He experienced highs and lows in London.
"This will be an emotional game for me. I had seven incredible years there," says Xhaka, who does not want to hide with his new club against the league leaders: "We will try everything to get something. We know where they're good and where they're not so good. They have a lot of confidence at the moment. But so do we."
Arsenal's defense is pretty good. Thanks to their 3-0 win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League during the week, the Gunners have not conceded a goal in all competitions for the eighth time in a row. The last time Arsenal achieved this was 122 years ago.
Find out whether Xhaka and Co. can also surprise against the leaders, who have been so confident so far, live on blue Sport (via Canal+) from 6.30pm on Saturday.
