GRANIT XHAKA enjoyed a chuckle with William Saliba as Arsenal trained for their clash with Fulham.
The mood at the Gunners’ London Colney training ground is sky high following their perfect start to the Premier League season.
And former skipper Xhaka and defender Saliba were in high spirits as they prepared for the visit of the Cottagers.
As Mikel Arteta’s troops went through drills for this afternoon’s match, Xhaka was spotted smiling and putting his hands in a prayer position as Saliba grinned in the background.
New signing Oleksandr Zinchenko was all smiles as he chatted with fellow defender Gabriel.
Switzerland international Xhaka has come a long way since his X-rated rant at Arsenal fans three years ago.
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And Gunners legend Patrick Vieira can’t help but see shades of himself in the combative midfielder.
When asked which player reminds him of himself, the Crystal Palace boss said: “Xhaka at Arsenal, I think he is a team player.
“I think he is somebody you may not notice, you may not mention a lot but he is doing really hard work for the team.”
Vieira was one of Xhaka’s staunchest defenders when he was being slammed for his foul-mouthed rant at the Emirates faithful.
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The Frenchman said: “I know how good he is, and he will come through this difficult period because he’s a strong man.
“He’s a good player, and he will show how good he is.”
Arsenal have a 100 per cent record going into this evening’s clash with Fulham and currently top the Premier League table after three matches.
But Gunners boss Mikel Arteta isn’t resting on his laurels, insisting: “[It’ll be a really tough match.
“They’ve been on an incredible run – last year in the Championship they did extremely well.
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“And they haven’t lost a game yet in the Premier League and they’ve played against three very difficult opponents, so credit to them.
“I think it will be a difficult game.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
