Granit Xhaka reveals differences in how teams play against Arsenal in title race
Granit Xhaka has stated that Arsenal are adapting to the pressure of being favorites in the Premier League and don’t necessarily have to win with style to end their title drought of 19 years.
According to him, as long as they achieve the desired result, nobody will question them at the end of the season.
Despite their challenging 2-2 draw against Sporting Lisbon, the Gunners still have a good chance of making it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. They will face Fulham on Sunday after securing a five-point lead at the top of the league with a late winner against Bournemouth.
According to Xhaka, Arsenal has the required depth in their squad to compete in both domestic and European competitions, which means they could potentially play 18 more games before the Europa League final in Budapest on May 31st.
He also added that his team is building the necessary mental resilience to handle the pressure of being at the top.
“You can see that every team is playing differently against us,” said the stand-in skipper in Lisbon. “They are dropping a lot, sometimes they are pressing us as well, but this is what happens when you are top of the league. There is much more pressure than before, for sure.
“But in general, I think we are doing well. I think there is a good mentality in the team and let’s try to keep that.”
Arsenal have won their last four Premier League games but have not been convincing. They needed late goals to beat Aston Villa and Bournemouth and conceded five goals.
“You see the last games, the results, we won them,” Xhaka responded. “We have to respect all the opponents, even if Bournemouth is not top in the table. We know how difficult it is to play against them. Even in the Premier League you play against first or last, it’s the same. It’s difficult. But as long as you get the result, nobody will ask you at the end of May.”
Arteta has urged his team to stop conceding “easy goals” if they aim to win any trophies this season, following their latest set-piece goal conceded in Portugal. Xhaka acknowledged that they have been allowing such goals and agreed with Arteta’s assessment.
“It’s too simple. One a set-piece, the other one we don’t take the runner. But everything starts at the front, if nobody or not all of us are ready on this level, you get punched. But the 2-2 is okay. We can now finish the second leg at home.”
Initially, Arsenal had intended to take Gabriel Jesus with them to Portugal for training on Friday, but they decided against it and instead flew home on Thursday night after the game.
Nevertheless, the Brazil striker is expected to make a return soon, following his knee surgery after the World Cup. His comeback is expected to boost Arsenal’s chances in the final two months of the season.
“For sure, because we lost Eddie (Nketiah) as well, it’s much more important to have Gabi back,” said Xhaka. “Leo (Trossard) as well is injured and he can play in this position. Step by step, I hope that Gabi will be 100% fit to help this team because we know that he can help us. With his attitude, with his personality, he is very, very important for us.”
Granit Xhaka reveals differences in how teams play against Arsenal in title race
