Arsenal: Xhaka like Petit, claims Wenger

Omnisports

August 29, 2016 8:18 AM

Granit Xhaka is a similar player to Emmanuel Petit, according to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

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Arsene Wenger has compared new signing Granit Xhaka to former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit.

Xhaka arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach during the close season for a reported fee of around £30milllion.

The Swiss international has featured in all three of Arsenal's Premier League matches so far and played the full 90 minutes in Saturday's 3-1 win at Watford.

And Wenger is delighted with Xhaka's early contribution.

"He is a guy who plays naturally behind the ball, a bit similar to Petit in the way he plays football," he said.

"He likes to sit, give good long balls and be available for the centre-backs. He has a good mixture of short and long balls, and in midfield it is important for us to sometimes stretch defenders.

"We have a game that is based on shorter passes than other teams, so sometimes you have a player who can kick the longer ball gives us a chance to get some oxygen and some space."

Discussing his pursuit of Xhaka, Wenger added: "We tried [to sign him] in December last year.

"He already has experience abroad and that is reassuring. He was captain at his young age at Monchengladbach, which is not a small club, so he has leadership qualities."

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