LEVERKUSEN -- Granit Xhaka says his move from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen was a "step forward" in his Premier League, the Swiss international having traded the battle for Premier League supremacy for a Bundesliga title race.
Xhaka brought an end to seven years with the Gunners at the end of what had been perhaps his best individual season with Arsenal, delivering nine goals and seven assists in all competitions as Mikel Arteta's side put together an unlikely push for the Premier League title. A player who had sworn at booing supporters several years earlier departed to a hero's reception from the Emirates Stadium last summer.
Xabi Alonso identified Xhaka as a key target in reshaping his squad and the Bayer Leverkusen head coach has been vindicated by the performances of the 31 year old. No one in Europe's top five leagues has completed more passes into the final third whilst among midfielders only Rodri has attempted more passes, Xhaka firmly established as the heartbeat of a side that top the Bundesliga having dropped only two points so far this season.
"A lot of people asked me why are you going to Germany, it's a step back," said Xhaka. "For me it's not a step back, it's a step forward. I think the last four months have been very, very good for us as a team and for myself.
"Everything was exactly what I wanted [here]. I'll never forget the time I was at Arsenal, seven years, it was a long time with ups and downs, good and bad things. I had the feeling I needed a new challenge. I'm so happy to be here because the challenge you're seeing here was in my mind. It's an amazing club in Germany with big history. Let's make bigger history if we can."
Leverkusen have never won the Bundesliga and have not won any trophies since 1993 but they look well placed for success this season under Alonso, who took charge in October 2022 with the Bundesliga giants in the relegation zone. Now they are competing for titles. It is perhaps no wonder he already finds himself linked with some of Europe's other top jobs.
In that regard Alonso has plenty in common with Xhaka's former manager Arteta. From schoolboy teammates -- and often opposing captains -- in San Sebastian, Spain, the two are now among football's brightest managerial prospects. Having observed both of them up close in person, Xhaka sees plenty of similarities.
"I had a very, very good relationship with Mikel, of course. A young coach who had a first job at a big, big club like Arsenal, of course [like] Xabi now. I see not a lot of big difference between them. They think the same, they work the same. I'm more than happy, it's a privilege for me to have Mikel before and Xabi now.
Asked what makes Alonso stand out, Xhaka added: "First of all he was an amazing player. Secondly for me as a midfielder – like how Mikel was as well – Xabi is showing many, many small details on the pitch. For me that's something special."
At $27.2 million, Xhaka was the most expensive acquisition made by Leverkusen this summer, a key figure in Xabi Alonso's plans to take his side towards the top spot in the Bundesliga. His qualities on the field have been abundantly clear in recent weeks; in Sunday's 4-0 win over Union Berlin he completed 144 of 150 passes, made 12 ball recoveries and completed 20 progressive passes, nine more than any of his team mates.
It is not just Xhaka's on-field qualities that have won him acclaim. Alonso was keen to note his new signing's impact behind the scenes, where he and fellow veteran signings Jonas Hoffman and Alex Grimaldo have been crucial in transmitting his coach's messages.
"When you are not there and the team is on their own, two, three guys repeating the same message you've been giving is fundamental," Alonso said when asked by CBS Sports about Xhaka's impact off the field. "When you have that you have a big part of the team in your hands. "They feel that, they are part of that belief and commitment. For sure this year we have some of them.
"I think that we have signed very strategic players to give us stability, to be reliable players, to be more efficient and consistent in our football. Not players with ups and downs, they are very, very consistent. That gives you the possibility to be more regular in the Bundesliga. We weren't expecting, to be honest, to be that super regular. Let's try to keep it that way."
