Granit Xhaka has been a huge part of Arsenal's rapid rise to the top of the Premier League table with Mikel Arteta's side five points clear of Manchester City. The Gunners have won 12 of their 14 league games, with Xhaka featuring in every game and only not competing the full 90 minutes on three occasions.
With just one defeat in the league this season that came against Man United, the Gunners deservedly sit at the Premier League's summit with their attacking quartet of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard in fine form all contributing to a number of Arsenal goals this campaign.
At the other end of the pitch, William Saliba has been imperious in the back four, while the midfield pairing of Xhaka and Thomas Partey has provided Arteta with the perfect midfield balance both offensively and defensively.
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Security in front of the defence is the priority for Partey and Xhaka but they have also been able to impact games in attack, with Arsenal seeing plenty of goals from midfield that could prove to be key in their Premier League title race.
A mid-season break for the World Cup likely came at the worst possible time for Arteta, and although 10 members of his squad are in Qatar, he has been given a surprising boost with many of those not playing many minutes for their respective countries.
In a further boost, Partey is set to return to the club sooner rather than later with Ghana eliminated from the World Cup on Friday. However, that plus has come with a blow as Xhaka will be continuing in the tournament with Switzerland after their 3-2 win over Serbia saw them set up a last-16 clash with Portugal.
As the captain of Switzerland, Xhaka is expected to play every remaining minute of his national team's World Cup campaign. The winner of their clash with Portugal will take on the winner of Morocco and Spain and while the latter will be the favourites, Japan showed they are beatable as they defeated them on Thursday thanks in part to a controversial goal.
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