Arsenal: Make that four for Granit Xhaka and none for you

Granit Xhaka’s exit from Arsenal seemed just a matter of time, but now that he gets another stamp of approval, the haters may be foiled again.

With all the transfer rumors ramping up surrounding Granit Xhaka, everyone was pretty sold that he would be departing Arsenal in January. He wasn’t happy with losing the captaincy, he wasn’t happy with fans, and fans (I use that term loosely) were never going to be happy with him.

Then Mikel Arteta came to town and told the world that Xhaka is a terrific player who’s future is at Arsenal. He said that he explained to Xhaka how important he was to the club and wants him to stay and continue his tenure at the club.

Which is fantastic news for me. And fantastic news for Xhaka. And fantastic news for Arsenal, as they benefit tremendously from his presence as well, even if some people can’t see that.

But the best part about this is we’ve now had four managers in a row who have all seen the value in Granit Xhaka, and four managers in a row who have trusted him.

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Arsene Wenger brought him in to be the future of the club’s midfield. When it seemed like he wouldn’t gel with Unai Emery’s style, he became captain. When he struggled and was stripped of the captaincy, Freddie Ljungberg stayed with him. And now that the rumors are swirling and it seemed like there was no way back for the Swiss international, Mikel Arteta asserted how important he is to the club and is trying to convince him to stay.

That’s no fluke. It’s not like any of these managers owe Granit Xhaka anything. They absolutely don’t. And it’s not like they have to go out of their way to make sure there’s a place for Xhaka. But they continue to use him.

There’s a reason for all this. It’s a reason I’ve been saying for years—because he’s a terrific player. Just like Mikel Arteta says. The only thing he’s done wrong is not being a defensive midfielder. Once you get past that, you run out of reasons not to like him. Some people just hold on for no reason.

It wasn’t that long ago that the score was three to nil, and I shamelessly drew attention to it. But with Arteta’s proclamation, it’s even more in favor of Granit Xhaka than ever before. Amen.