Two steps forward: Granit Xhaka on moving to Bayer Leverkusen from Arsenal

Xhaka led the German club to the league title in his first season.

Granit Xhaka, a midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen, discussed his reasons for moving from Arsenal to the German club during a media roundtable.

The Swiss player signed with Leverkusen at the start of the 2023-24 season. Since then, he has had a significant impact on the team. His guidance enabled a young Leverkusen squad to win the Bundesliga.

Speaking to Bild, Xhaka discussed how his decision to move to Leverkusen was significant. It was a smart move for the midfielder, whose skills also helped the younger players on the pitch. It made the Bundesliga team a title contender.

Xhaka said, “The move from Arsenal to Leverkusen was not a step back, but rather two steps forward.” The Swiss international then added, “I had exactly the feeling, during conversations with the coach and with Simon Rolfes, that something special can arise here in the next few years.”

Granit Xhaka had completed his transfer from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen. The move saw the Gunners receive €25m (£21.5m $27.3m). The midfield player, who won the championship in his debut season as a Leverkusen player, will be looking to defend the league title this upcoming season. Xabi Alonso will stay on as the Bundesliga club’s boss.

The Swiss player did have a chance to win the league title with Arsenal in the 2022–23 campaign. But the Gunners lost their last few games of the campaign, allowing Manchester City to win their third straight Premier League crown.

Declan Rice has been the Gunners’ replacement for Xhaka ever since he left. The last campaign was a similar story for Arsenal who were once again inches closer to winning the title but lost it to City.

Leverkusen, who won the double last season, have already made transfer signings to bolster their squad depth. They have brought in Girona’s Aleix García, Rennes’s Martin Terrier and Rennes’ Jeanuël Belocian.

On August 17, Leverkusen will play host to VfB Stuttgart in the DFL Super Cup to begin their new season. They play their first game of the new Bundesliga season away against Borussia Mönchengladbach one week later.

Many people will be looking to Xhaka to lead the team to another championship with the new additions. It will be fascinating to watch how he does this time around as Bayern Munich will be looking to improve in the upcoming season.

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