Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka put on yet another impressive display during Saturday’s 3-1 North London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur and has been granted a new nickname as a result of his performances.
The Swiss international captain was influential yet again as the Gunners retained their place at the top of the Premier League with their seventh win from eight games so far this season, where his second goal of the campaign secured all three points.
And Arsenal legend Martin Keown has now hailed him as "the new Arsenal fans' favourite" following his performance at the weekend, which highlights just how far the midfielder has come after some turbulent times with supporters at the Emirates Stadium.
Keown was on co-commentary for BT Sport’s coverage of the game and made the comment on Xhaka following his 67th minute strike which all but killed the game off. It is a stark contrast in feelings between the player and Arsenal fans from just a few years ago.
Xhaka infamously swore at his own fans after he was substituted in a home game against Crystal Palace almost three years ago, which made life much more difficult for him in north London as a result. His performances also received plenty of criticism from fans and it looked as though he would leave the club, until Arteta stepped in.
"Without him [Arteta], I would not be here in this football club anymore," Xhaka told ESPN recently, while opening up on his admiration for the Arsenal boss. "He helped me a lot when I was completely down. He took me aside, helped me with small things, step by step, tactically, as a person, mentality, between the team and the club, tried to help me as well with the fans."
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The 30-year-old became notorious for poor discipline on the field as well, often picking up a number of bookings that sometimes resulted in his dismissal from the pitch, while clumsy challenges and mistakes led to opposition goals on a number of occasions.
But under Arteta, and particularly this season, Xhaka has transformed into a completely different player. He has become a focal point of Arsenal’s midfield and has turned into one of their most important first team members as the Gunners top the Premier League.
From eight top flight fixtures in 2022/23, Xhaka already has two goals and three assists, very much putting him on course to register his best return in the Premier League since the 2017/2018 campaign, having already surpassed his total from the last three seasons.
As well as his performances in a red shirt, it is also his mentality both on and off the field which have been completely transformed. At half-time of Saturday’s game against Spurs, with the scores level at 1-1, it was revealed that Xhaka took it upon himself to apologise to his teammates in the dressing room for his fault in the build-up to Gabriel Magalhaes’ clumsy challenge on Harry Kane that gave away a penalty.
During that first half, however, he also won Arsenal fans’ hearts after gathering his teammates in a huddle following Thomas Partey’s opener, leading many supporters to suggest that he is the true leader in the Arsenal dressing room.
A host of Arsenal players, past and present, also lauded the midfielder for his display, as did the likes of former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, as well as ex-Spurs striker Peter Crouch, who was also on BT Sport duty with Keown, which just shows the true extent of Xhaka’s turnaround at the club.
His own manager also chipped in with his thoughts on Xhaka getting the love from the home support. Following the game, Arteta said: "You could feel the connection there between the players and the staff and the crowd. I’m so happy because I think it was a beautiful day, a beautiful game. I’m so happy as well because I think we make a lot of our supporters very happy and proud."
