A number of Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to share their delight at how Granit Xhaka appears to have been transformed under the management of Mikel Arteta.
The Switzerland international played a stellar role in helping the Gunners take a point against fierce London rivals Chelsea on Tuesday night as he dropped into defence alongside Shkodran Mustafi following David Luiz’s sending off.
The 27-year-old managed to make two tackles, one interception and a mammoth six clearances in the game, whilst also successfully blocking a shot from the Blues as well (per WhoScored).
Indeed, it certainly looks as though things have turned a corner for the £27million-rated midfielder (per TransferMarkt) in recent weeks, especially when his Arsenal career looked extremely bleak at one point just a few months ago.
Whilst under Unai Emery, Xhaka was stripped of his captaincy following the scenes that surrounded him during their home encounter with Crystal Palace.
There were also rumours that he would be quitting the north London outfit this month and joining Hertha Berlin, however talk of a move to the German capital appears to have died despite the January window being open.
In fact, Xhaka appears to be a rejuvenated player under Arteta and a number of the club’s faithful appear to feel the same way about the divisive figure.
Many of them praised the influence that the new manager has had on the midfielder, with some keen to see it continue as they feel the Spaniard is finally getting the best out of the former Borussia Monchengladbach man.
Here are just some of their reactions…
