Granit Xhaka will put club friendships to one side at the World Cup as he prepares to "smash" Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
The Switzerland midfielder has been a leading light for Arsenal this term as they sit top of the Premier League. The camaraderie and team spirit in north London is as strong as it's been for years, but that will mean little for the 30-year-old in Qatar as he eyes three points for Switzerland.
Xhaka and his compatriots will be tasked with downing the much-fancied Brazilians on Monday afternoon. The South American nation are among the favourites at the tournament, winning their opening game against Serbia, but Xhaka, who is known for his physicality, won't be handing out special treatment for his Gunners colleagues.
He said: "We were joking before the World Cup to come here and of course, it is always good if you have team-mates opposite your, but we are professional footballers and for 90 minutes. I told Gabby Martinelli and Gabby Jesus if you are running one against one against our goalkeeper I will smash you!
“It doesn’t matter that we are playing in the same team. This is the Word Cup. You play for your own team, you play for your own country and you want to win. Of course, they were worried. They know me. If I smash you, it will be very very hard.”
Jesus and Martinelli both appeared from the bench in Brazil's opening game. Richarlison led the line with Vinicius Jnr, Neymar and Raphinha as his supporting cast. Neymar suffered an injury that has ruled him out of the group stages, which could see one of the Arsenal pair come into the fold.
Who will win the World Cup? Tell us what you think here.
Switzerland and Brazil sit level on three points after both winning their opening games. The Swiss saw off Cameroon thanks to a Breel Embolo goal, but Xhaka knows they have a very different task facing them in their second group match.
“I expect a different game. If you see the Brazil players, they can put out three teams," he said. "They have the quality, they have big talents that are coming through, but they know us as well, that it is not always easy to play against us and we want to give them as difficult a game as possible and hopefully we can turn something around for us.”
Switzerland were able to hold Brazil at the last World Cup in Russia four years ago. The two sides drawing in their opening group game as Steven Zuber cancelled out Philippe Coutinho's opener. The two nations were fancied to qualify for the knockout stages, but defeat could scupper their respective hopes.
