Granit Xhaka continues to be considered one of the best signings of this season in the Premier League. In England, many football experts even see him as the best transfer, considering the great impact he is having at Sunderland.
Sunderland are being led on the pitch by Xhaka, who is also the team captain. The team is the only one in the Premier League without a home defeat and is aiming to secure a place in Europe. Sunderland's return to the elite came after a long time, while with Xhaka as the leader of the midfield, the team is showing a high level.
However, at the moment Xhaka is injured and will miss the match against Arsenal, which takes place on Saturday at 16:00 PM.
Xhaka previously played with great success at Arsenal, before spending two seasons at Bayer Leverkusen. After that, he decided to return to England again, this time to Sunderland.
But his decision was not understood by everyone. There were even people who laughed at his choice, which Xhaka admitted in an interview with BBC.
"People have laughed at me, to be honest. Even some of my best friends have said to me, 'Why are you coming back?'"
"They said to me 'OK you're coming back, but why Sunderland?' Because I like challenges. I felt like I needed a new challenge after two years in Germany."
"In the first year we won almost everything there. We won the Bundesliga without losing, we won the German Cup. We lost the final in the Europa League and that was very painful," Xhaka said.
When fit, Xhaka was an irreplaceable starter for Sunderland, but he has missed the last two games through injury. This season, he has registered one goal and five assists in 22 Premier League appearances.
Xhaka has shown that Sunderland was the right choice for him and his family.
"I had the feeling that it was the right club for me. I had that feeling when I spoke to the owner of Sunderland, when I spoke to the club, the manager. People are very humble here."
"It's a small town and I saw myself exactly how I grew up. And I wanted to get back to reality. I believed it was the right direction for me and my family."
"I'm very happy that everything went very well, just as I had hoped," the 33-year-old concluded.Telegrafi/
