Bundesliga star opens up on big Arsenal transfer decision!

Granit Xhaka has explained why he left Arsenal this summer to join Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen

Xhaka, who made 297 appearances for the north Londoners between 2016 and 2023, was one of the players that Mikel Arteta sacrificed in the summer window, despite the powerhouse being a big part of the squad.

ARSENAL are unbeaten in the Premier League this season while Leverkusen sit top of the Bundesliga, and Xhaka has now opened up about his exit from the Emirates.

‘I didn’t come to Leverkusen as a boss, but because I was looking for a new challenge,’ the 31-year-old Switzerland international told NZZ am Sonntag.

‘I felt like my time at Arsenal was over for me after seven years in London. I came here as an experienced player and person.

‘The other players see that I can give them something of what I have learned. That’s part of my role here.

‘It was sometimes written that I was coming back to Germany because of my wife. That’s not the truth. Like me, she was very happy in London.

‘I made the decision solely as a footballer and athlete. I came to a top club in Germany that has a plan and wants to achieve something.

‘Of course the change was easier for us because, like me, we used to live in Düsseldorf and it is close to Mönchengladbach, where my wife grew up.’

Quizzed about the difference between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen, Xhaka added: ‘You can only see what it’s really like if you can train here every day and be there.

‘You can work in peace at Bayer Leverkusen, there is no chaos, other clubs are more in focus. This is an advantage.

‘At ARSENAL the pressure is different. But we have high ambitions because we know that we have enormous potential in the team.

‘If we keep working like this and keep our feet on the ground, we can achieve something.

‘I would be lying if I said that the pressure and attention was the same in Leverkusen.

‘But what is much more important to me is the pressure we put on ourselves, what we expect of ourselves. As I said: We have a lot of confidence in ourselves.’

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