Granit Xhaka details Mikel Arteta influence ahead of Sunderland vs Arsenal
Granit Xhaka spent several years with Arsenal before eventually returning to the Premier League with Sunderland.
Since day one, Xhaka has been nothing short of incredible for Sunderland, with his goal in their latest 1-1 draw with Everton the highlight of his time on Wearside so far.
At 33 years old, the Swiss international has aged like a fine wine and has already proven several of his doubters wrong with the level of consistency in his game this season.
Regis Le Bris has had a big impact on that, but in an interview with The Athletic, Xhaka has explained how Mikel Arteta shaped him into the player he is today.
Mikel Arteta helped Granit Xhaka mature as a player
Xhaka was quality at Arsenal, but his ability on the pitch was often overshadowed by his attitude and his tendency to lose his temper.
At the Emirates, Xhaka picked up five red cards and several other suspensions as a result of yellow card accumulation.
He looked finished at Arsenal when he was booed off the pitch by his own supporters, and, on that occasion, he completely lost his composure.
That was until Arteta was appointed, with the Spaniard completely changing how the Swiss midfielder carried himself on the pitch.
“When Mikel came, he had a very open conversation with me,” Xhaka said.
“My luggage was already done. I was ready to leave. I already had a contract on the table from another football club.
“He changed me completely — as a human being, on the pitch, outside the pitch.
“I didn’t have doubts about myself, about the quality, about how professional I needed to be — because I was — but there were these little mistakes, yellow cards, red cards. Silly red cards, where you don’t need to… but Mikel, he changed it.“
Sunderland have Mikel Arteta to thank for the player they have today
Xhaka‘s mentality has been significantly better ever since, having not received a red card since Arteta joined the Gunners as manager.
So far this season, he has three yellow cards, which is seven fewer than he had at Arsenal in his second-to-last season.
His leadership qualities have improved tenfold as a result of his time under Arteta, and Sunderland are now the ones benefiting from that change.
When Arsenal travel to face Sunderland on Saturday, he will no doubt get a very good reception from the away support.
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