Bayer Leverkusen are 'desperate' to sign Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka during this summer's transfer window, as per the Mirror.
Xhaka has enjoyed a stellar 2022/23 campaign in north London, thriving in a more attacking role on the left side of Mikel Arteta's favoured 4-3-3 system. The Swiss captain has put up the best numbers of his career in terms of goal involvements, netting five goals and providing a further seven assists in the Premier League this term.
That kind of form is said to have attracted Bundesliga side Leverkusen, who have previously tried to prise Xhaka away from the Emirates Stadium. It will give Sporting Director Edu a huge decision this summer whether to stick with the 30-year-old or use the cash from any potential deal to fund other recruits, with the club keen to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice, football.london understands.
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Xhaka joined the Gunners from German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach back in the summer of 2016, signing for a fee in the region of £34 million. However, it hasn't always been plain sailing in N7 for the tough-tackling midfielder.
He was stripped of his captaincy duties back in 2019 after reacting badly to being booed by his own fans before openly admitting he wanted to leave. But Arteta was able to convince Xhaka to stay, outlining just how important he was to the Spaniard's setup.
"There was one guy, his name is Mikel Arteta," Xhaka told Bein Sports earlier this year. "I will always support him, it doesn’t matter what happens. Without him, I am 100 per cent sure I would not be in the club anymore.
"He knows that, I have a very good and honest relationship with him. It doesn’t matter what happens on the pitch, I will never ever be against him or say something against him.
"He deserves my respect, but the respect from my family as well. I was gone. I did not want to wear the shirt anymore. He gave me the feeling to do it again.
"I am very proud of myself to wear the shirt again with a lot of respect and love, hopefully we can end this with a trophy."
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