ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta says Granit Xhaka adapting to a more advanced role was a “necessity” and revealed he threatened to AXE him if he didn’t.
The Swiss star, 30, has been one of Arsenal’s standout stars this season.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League at Christmas after 14 games and five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City.
And on a personal level, Xhaka has gone from zero to hero under Arteta, having previously been stripped of the club captaincy in 2019 and being widely disliked after gesturing back at booing fans against Crystal Palace.
Boss Arteta was the man to convince Xhaka to stay put in 2020 with the midfield intent on heading for the exit door.
He is also the man that has revolutionised Xhaka into a competent player in the final third.
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Xhaka has four goals and three assists to his name this term and was told if he didn’t adapt to a new attacking role, he faced being axed.
Arteta told Sky Sports: “I think it was a necessity [change in role].
“I think the squad wanted to evolve to another level and be more dominant and have more resources in the final third to attack and to score more goals.
“We needed to make that change.
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“I spoke to him at the end of the season and said, ‘I need to unlock something in your brain because you’re so comfortable and confident playing in this area that you have forgot what is actually going to win us the game and the team now demands somebody here, so unless you unlock that I’m going to have to do something about it’.
“He took it straight away. He’s a very intelligent player, he came to pre-season fitter than ever, slimmer than ever, and he knew that if we wanted to take the team to a different level we had to change his role. He knew that was coming.
“We believed he has those qualities, those qualities were there to be exploited and they were hiding.
“The team needed those qualities very much.
“As I said, he is extremely intelligent, he has the physical capacity to constantly threat and occupy those spaces and recover his position quickly enough to have the balance we need.
“He’s been really consistent, the way he trains, the way he practises, to evolve to the demands we want for the team.
“He’s a special person. He’s very straight, he’s very honest, he’s very loyal and he’s very passionate about what he does.
“So when you have someone like that you want to help him, you want to protect him, you want him to fulfil the talent he has.
“He’s made some mistakes and he’s learnt from it, but he has always faced adversity and difficulty and he’s never run away from it.
“This is what all managers wants from their players.
“You know you can count on him, he will fight and break walls for you. This is what we expect from our players.”
Arsenal are back in action on Boxing Day at the Emirates against West Ham.
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The Hammers sit one point above the drop zone and under fire manager David Moyes has admitted it’ll be a difficult trip to the North London outfit.
He said on Arsenal: “They have got a really good set pattern, but also it has got flexibility and it is quite difficult to look at and understand.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
