Arsene Wenger right about Granit Xhaka | OneFootball

Granit Xhaka is relishing life in a new position after grabbing a goal and an assist as Arsenal beat Leicester 4-2 at the Emirates but Mikel Arteta has said that Fabio Vieira will also play in that role.

When Arsene Wenger bought Granit Xhaka and described him as a box-to-box midfielder, many mocked the former Arsenal manager.

“I personally prefer him as a box-to-box player,” Wenger said in 2016.

“Because he has the engine, he has the power, he has the long pass. He likes to come deep and distribute the game, but he has the engine to have the impact with his runs.

“It’s not about his quality at the moment – he adapts to the pace of the English game – and for me it’s about pairs as well, who work together. Coquelin and Cazorla have worked well together. He will play games; every week he’s stronger and better. He will have a huge impact.”

Xhaka certainly looked like a man transformed this weekend and is enjoying his new found freedom on the pitch.

“I’ve got more freedom to go up and down,” Xhaka explained.

“I know I can do that. I have a lot of freedom from the coach, from my teammates.

“At the moment I’m happy with how everything is going. Let’s continue to work like this and hopefully at the end of the season we can be more than happy.

“It’s always good when you score and it’s always good when you can help the team – not only me, but all the players did a great job today. I’m more than happy to help, of course.”

Asked about Xhaka’s importance after the game, Mikel Arteta seemed to hint that it was just temporary.

“He’s there to play the role that we want and Granit has certain characteristics” Arteta said, “but we can develop other characteristics because he has ability to do it.

“When Fabio Vieira plays in that position, he will have a different role because his qualities are different, and it’s the same with Martin, so the team has to adapt, but the players as well have to play with an eye on the goal and the feeling that they want to score.”