Journalist Charles Watts has highly praised the display of Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in the club’s most recent game.
In their latest Premier League, Mikel Arteta and co were able to reclaim first their position at the top of the table with an impressive win away from home.
A goal each in the first half from William Saliba and then Gabriel Jesus were followed up by a fine strike from Fabio Vieira in the 49th minute as the Gunners claimed a 3-0 win over Brentford
However, beyond those three, it seems as though one man in the middle of the park really caught the eye for Arsenal. Indeed, Watts could not help but praise Xhaka for his ‘outstanding’ display.
He took to Twitter to say: “In what has been a pretty ugly game so far, Xhaka has been outstanding in all areas. Best player on the pitch by a distance.”
TIF thoughts on Granit Xhaka and Arsenal…
In fairness to Watts, the stats (via SofaScore) certainly seem to back up what the journalist says. Xhaka finished the game with one assist, two big chances created, 89 per cent passing accuracy, three key passes, one clearance, one interception, and was fouled twice.
And it seems as though the fans were also appreciative of the player’s performance too as they chanted ‘we’ve got Granit Xhaka, we’ve got Granit Xhaka..’ to the Swiss midfielder who was moved by this display of support (via Goal). However, it was William Saliba who was given the Man of the Match award and highest rating from Sky Sports.
With one goal and three assists to his name already this season after just seven league games, the 29-year-old is being used further up the field by Arteta and it seems to truly be getting the best out of him.
Player, club and fans will be hoping this form can continue for some time yet.