Granit Xhaka believes he can continue to thrive in his new role for Arsenal after an impressive start to the season.
The midfielder chipped in with a goal and an assist in the Gunners’ 4-2 win over Leicester, as Mikel Arteta’s side backed up their opening victory over Crystal Palace.
Playing on the left of a midfield three and with Thomas Partey sitting in front of the defence, Xhaka has been far more involved further up the pitch and has already matched his Premier League goal tally from each of the previous three seasons.
Explaining his role in Arteta’s 4-3-3 system, Xhaka revealed how much he is enjoying the opportunity to contribute in the opposition’s penalty area.
“I’ve got more freedom to go up and down,” Xhaka said. “I know I can do that. I have a lot of freedom from the coach, from my teammates.
“At the moment I’m happy with how everything is going. Let’s continue to work like this and hopefully at the end of the season we can be more than happy.
“It’s always good when you score and it’s always good when you can help the team – not only me, but all the players did a great job today. I’m more than happy to help, of course.”
It’s been the ideal start to the season for Arsenal, their two wins a complete contrast to last season when they began the Premier League campaign with three straight defeats.
The All or Nothing documentary series continues to bring added scrutiny on the Gunners, but Xhaka insists it has helped strengthen the bond between players and fans.
“Absolutely, I believe so,” Xhaka said when asked if the documentary had benefited the club.
“As I said sometimes they see only us here, the 90 minutes doesn’t matter if we play at home or away, and they give us a point ‘you’re good you’re bad’.
“But like this they can see that we’re human beings as well, we struggle in different moments as well, it’s not everything about winning and losing but we are giving everything and sometimes you are lucky, sometimes it’s not your day and this is what I like – to understand the people as well.”
