He was divisive at Arsenal however Granit Xhaka has tasted defeat TWICE in 64 video games and misplaced the ball ONCE for Switzerland at Euro 2024… the Bayer Leverkusen star now has England in his sights, writes MATT BARLOW

What higher means for Granit Xhaka to mark the primary anniversary of his transfer to Bayer Leverkusen than a quarter-final with England and a duel with Declan Rice, the £100million man who has taken his place in Arsenal’s midfield?

Issues may hardly have labored out higher for Xhaka since his exit from north London, profitable the German double and reaching the Europa League ultimate, now main Switzerland to the final eight of Euro 2024.

‘Not an ideal season as a result of we misplaced the Europa League ultimate,’ he identified, deflecting reward at first of this match. It could not befit Xhaka’s fashion to look overly smug or contented, he relatively likes the hostility of competitors, however in 66 video games for membership and nation he has misplaced solely twice. And never but on German soil since his transfer from Arsenal.

He has been acclaimed the Bundesliga’s switch of the season, a cut price for £21.4million on a five-year deal, the membership’s smartest piece of enterprise since they raided neighbours Cologne for 17-year-old Florian Wirtz based on the Leverkusen beat reporters, the keystone to an almost-all-conquering workforce and Xabi Alonso’s on-field strategist and dressing room chief.

Xhaka has adopted the same position for the Swiss, convincing Murat Yakin to embrace among the tactical patterns they use at Leverkusen, and so they have flourished from a misfiring qualification marketing campaign to Saturday’s showdown with England in Dusseldorf, the town he now calls dwelling.

All of this has propelled him on the age of 31 into the general public debate about candidates for the following Ballon d’Or which might be a rare factor to behold for anybody on the Emirates Stadium when he tore off his captain’s armband and stormed down the tunnel swearing on the dwelling followers as they booed him out of sight and returned his four-letter insults with curiosity.

They’d patched up these variations by the point the left and Mikel Arteta was not in a rush to lose him. He may simply have utilised him alongside Rice in Arsenal’s midfield, however Xhaka was prepared for a brand new problem and a brand new chapter in his life.

Alonso has been a key catalyst within the transformation. The Leverkusen boss adores Xhaka and labored laborious to land the deal. Maybe he detected just a little of himself within the Swiss schemer, an abundance of technical excellence allied to a tactical thoughts, bodily energy and an urge for food for profitable.

On Alonso’s watch, Xhaka has refined his sport. He’s rather less box-to-box within the lengthy vertical strains of English soccer. These Hollywood passes and the long-range efforts on aim are nonetheless within the locker however seen much less incessantly.

There’s extra management in his sport, conducting proceedings with brief passes, shifting the ball, creating angles, producing tempo, trusting team-mates to guard possession below stress, disrupting the form of opponents and recognising the second to strike.

On the identical time screening his central defenders and killing counter assaults.

Xhaka claims he was already creating on this course, one thing he places all the way down to his teaching research. He began the UEFA A Licence course at Arsenal and has accomplished it in Germany.

For six months of final season, he spent sooner or later every week teaching at SC Union Nettetal, a fifth-tier newbie workforce, the place his brother-in-law Leonard Lekaj performs.

‘This course gave me enter to learn matches in a different way,’ mentioned Xhaka as he picked up the person of the match award after a 3-1 win towards Hungary at first of Euro 2024. ‘In all probability to be a step forward of the opponent and have a greater imaginative and prescient of play.’

This was evident from excessive within the stands of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium the place he orchestrated Switzerland’s best efficiency of the match, towards Italy within the final 16, a day when he carried out as if watching the sport unfold from above.

With this, too, has come just a little extra self-discipline. The pink mist had lifted. Xhaka even talked Alonso out of a plan to relaxation him from a sport towards Darmstadt in February when he was one yellow card from a ban which might have dominated him out of the following sport, towards title rivals Bayern Munich.

He performed with out selecting up a yellow card as Leverkusen gained at Darmstadt then beat Bayern convincingly and accelerated away to their first Bundesliga title earlier than including the German Cup, with Xhaka scoring the one aim within the ultimate in Berlin.

He has by no means lacked the braveness to take duty, attributing his steely mentality to the heritage of his household, who left Kosovo for Basel in 1990, quickly after his father and uncle had been launched after three-and-a-half years in jail for protesting as college students towards the Yugoslav Authorities.

Within the roughest days at Arsenal, when he turned a logo for followers of all that was incorrect on the membership and the goal for vile and private on-line abuse, he refused to cover or keep away from his critics.

Certainly, Xhaka was all the time heading a really brief queue of gamers who would possibly deal with the media after a poor efficiency.

‘A real chief – on and off the pitch,’ says Alonso, for whom goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky wears the armband. ‘A giant affect on the younger gamers and he has made us a a lot better and extra mature workforce.’

As Switzerland’s captain, Xhaka led a delegation of senior gamers who went to type out issues with boss Yakin after the qualifying marketing campaign spluttered final autumn.

There have been underwhelming attracts with Israel and Belarus, two with Kosovo, and defeat towards Romania who went on to high of the group. They’ve all denied the notion of confrontation with calls for from the gamers to revert to a back-three however there was actually dialogue adopted by a contemporary ambiance and an upturn in outcomes.

‘Formation has by no means been one thing we have talked about, by no means a problem,’ mentioned Xhaka. ‘We’re glad to have a coach listening and speaking to us. We by no means had issues. We’re adults and now we have an important relationship with the coach.

‘He got here to see me many instances. We met in Dusseldorf, we had dinner and drank lots of wine collectively. We’re formidable and need to achieve success.’

They’ve acquired a style for achievement. Now for England and the duel with Rice. Xhaka is just not more likely to let a nagging abdomen pressure maintain him out. He performed with it towards Italy and has been coaching alone, managing his workload however is anticipated to declare himself match.

‘He’s a machine,’ as one in all Switzerland’s officers put it – and also you simply know he shall be relishing this one.