Granit Xhaka is convinced Arsenal can produce a “special year” under Mikel Arteta this season by winning the Premier League title.
The Gunners sit top of the table going into Sunday’s game against Leeds United, a point ahead of defending champions Manchester City. Arteta’s side have won eight of their nine matches, picking up big victories against Liverpool and Tottenham in recent weeks.
Arsenal have not won the Premier League since the famous Invincibles campaign of 2003/04 and have not even finished in the top four since 2015/16. But Xhaka thinks his side can maintain their storming start to the season – and should therefore be considered genuine contenders to Man City’s crown.
“It can be a special year. If we keep going like we are working at the moment, we can get something big,” the midfielder told the Daily Mail. Asked if that means going for the title, he replied: “Of course. We have to believe in ourselves. If not, why are we playing?”
Xhaka also suggested pundits are playing down Arsenal’s chances, despite the evidence in front of them. A 3-1 derby victory over Spurs and a 3-2 win over Liverpool last weekend are major achievements which he believes are evidence of grit and determination, as well as quality.
“What I hear from people outside, they are saying we are not ready to beat the top six. But we did it twice now,” he added. "We lost at Manchester United, where we were the better team. We need to give credit and respect to Man City [and] what they did the last couple of years. You need the perfect day to beat them. But I think we are ready to have this fight against them.”
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So far, Arsenal are coping well with the demands of fighting on two fronts, with three wins out of three in the Europa League. Sunday’s match, away to Leeds, should be another good indication of where the Gunners are, coming off the back of a trip to Norway on Thursday, where they beat Bodo/Glimt 1-0.
Gary Neville’s viewpoint on Arsenal is one typical of the kind of scepticism Xhaka is pushing back against. “I want Arsenal to do well. I want Mikel Arteta to do well because he’s a young manager,” Neville said on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet. "The managers he’s up against – Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, before he got sacked – they’re animals to be up against.
“You’re talking about machines, and even though there’s been a lot of investment, to break into that group of managers is just difficult to do. That’s why it didn’t surprise me at the end of last season that Conte did what he did, in pipping Arsenal to 4th place, purely because of his experience.”
