Granit Xhaka’s exit is on hold by Mikel Arteta. Granit Xhaka‘s departure from Arsenal has been postponed until a suitable successor has been identified.
The Swiss international is expected to depart the Emirates this summer and sign with Bayer Leverkusen of the Bundesliga, according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano. His current deal with the North London club expires the following year.
To find reinforcements, the Gunners have temporarily halted the midfielder’s transfer, according to German source Kicker (via Football.London).
They have been associated with players like Mason Mount of Chelsea, Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion, and Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City. Declan Rice of West Ham United is also at the top of their list of must-have transfers.
Meanwhile, this season, Xhaka has been in outstanding form for Mikel Arteta’s team. The representative of Switzerland had 37 appearances in the Premier League, contributing seven assists and seven goals.
Additionally, this season in seven games for the North London team in the UEFA Europa League, he scored twice.
The midfielder was a key member of an Arsenal squad that dominated for most of the 2022–23 season. Before a dismal stretch in April that caused them to lose the Premier League title fight to Manchester City, they generally kept their place atop the standings.
The team from north London placed second in the league standings this season after dominating it for 248 days and earning 84 points from 38 games.
Arsenal should sign this Premier League superstar, says Bacary Sagna:
Iconic Gunners player Bacary Sagna has pushed his former team to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United this summer. The Frenchman thinks the English player would be the ideal Xhaka replacement.
Sagna told Lord Ping: “Declan Rice would undoubtedly get better playing for Mikel Arteta, in my opinion. This season, Xhaka played a somewhat different role for Arsenal and made a difference on the offensive side of the pitch. If Rice were to join Arsenal, I believe they would use him in Xhaka’s position since I think he would fit in there well.”
He added: “I believe he would play more freely at Arsenal than he does at West Ham right now. Because he will receive greater service at Arsenal and play with better players who will be able to locate him like [Martin] Odegaard, he will find himself in circumstances where he will have the chance to add more goals to his game.”
If the aforementioned rumors are true, Sagna’s counsel would allow the Gunners to trade Xhaka this summer. For West Ham, Rice, 24, has played in 144 senior matches and has made 15 goals and 13 assists.
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