Arsenal: Mikel Arteta belief the big Granit Xhaka positive

Mikel Arteta convinced Granit Xhaka to stay at Arsenal. While the decision is arguable, Xhaka’s belief in his new head coach is a huge positive.

The future of Granit Xhaka has been uncertain all season long. After a disastrous end to last season and the emergence of Matteo Guendouzi, there were suggestions that Arsenal might move on from the midfielder, despite he being the next in line to inherit the club captaincy.

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Xhaka stayed and was infamously handed the captaincy, only to tell the supporters to ‘f*ck off’, be stripped of it within months, and move to the verge of an exit once more, Hertha Berlin having a deal agreed according to his agent.

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But despite the trajectory towards an exit only accelerating, the introduction of a new head coach in Mikel Arteta has seemingly ressurrected Xhaka’s north London career. In fact, despite his agent saying that he was keen to leave, Arteta has convinced Xhaka to stay at the club, at least until the end of the season. Speaking to media this week, Arteta explained how he changed the midfielder’s mind:

"“The first message for him was that I wanted to understand how he was feeling, why he was feeling that way. I wanted him to hear from me my opinion on him, and that I was ready to support him and that I was ready to push the club to be supportive of him too, because I thought he could be a really, really good player for us and he could enjoy playing under me in this football club. I tried to convince him that way. He thought about it, he had a very positive response afterwards, and I think he changed his mind.”"

Now, whether you agree with Arteta’s assessment of Xhaka, his qualities and his usage or not, what cannot be denied is the belief that Xhaka must have in his new manager to turn on his initial instinct to force an exit, ideally in the January transfer window.

The biggest concern regarding the appointment of Arteta was his lack of managerial experience, especially when it came to managing a squad of experienced, international players. He may have played at that level, but could he inspire belief in his methods with capable, emotionally intelligent man-management and leadership? No one really knew.

Well, the early signs suggest he can. David Luiz has been famously bowled over by Arteta’s coaching and communication, heralding him as a manager who is set to have a brilliant career, while Xhaka has now done a 180-degree turn on his initial decision to leave the club. His wanting to stay — or at least a willingness to stay — is testament to the belief he has in Arteta.

You may agree with Arteta’s assessment of Xhaka and his future. You might not. But in either instance, the belief that Xhaka has in Arteta’s management is the major positive.