Mikel Arteta explains how Granit Xhaka has made him a better manager at Arsenal

Granit Xhaka faces former club Arsenal for the first time competitively since he left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023

Granit Xhaka has been given a glowing review by former manager Mikel Arteta ahead of Arsenal’s reunion with the midfielder in Sunderland on Saturday. The Swiss faces his former club for the first time competitively since he left for Bayer Leverkusen in 2023.

“I loved every minute that we spent together,” Arteta said. “When I joined, he was in a special moment of his life and his career, and between all of us, we tried to guide him, to give him a different perspective, to make him feel loved, valued, and he responded in an incredible way.

“He made me a better coach, he helped us to develop and improve a lot as a football team and as a club, and I will be eternally grateful because I have great memories with him.”

Arteta had to convince Xhaka to stay at the club when he re-joined as manager ahead of the January transfer window in 2020. A task that the newly-appointed boss successfully accomplished and a moment that would be critical in the eventual rise of the Gunners back into title contention.

“Well, I already did it once and then we extended his contract,” Arteta said when asked about Xhaka's eventual decision to depart just over three years later. “When he came in and explained the reasons, you have to understand the human being, you have to be grateful.”

The 33-year-old has taken on the captain’s armband for the Black Cats and reintegrated into the Premier League with great ease. Having played every minute of every league game this season for Sunderland, scoring once and assisting three times, it is no surprise Arteta feels he has been one of the signings of the summer.

“Well, with the impact he's having, one of the best, I would say,” Arteta said. “I think what they've done as a football club as well in the last few years is very impressive, the management and the decision that they've taken and how stable they look and how they have started the season, so really impressive.”

Many have suggested that had Xhaka not left in 2023 and joined a midfield that included the likes of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal might have gone on to snatch a surprise title victory that season.

Xhaka’s dressing room presence was always such an asset to the team, and he even began his coaching back at Arsenal. “They had a great group,” Arteta recalls. “Cedric [Soares], [Mohamed] Elneny, there were a few there as well. I loved it because that means that... I'm sure if he [decides] one day, he's going to be a great coach.”

Yet, Arteta refused to go into the details of what type of coach Xhaka might indeed become should he choose such a pathway and was quick to remind everyone of just how impressive a player he remains to this day.

“It would be up to him to decide,” Arteta replied. “That's not for me, but I think a very good one. Let him play first. He's playing every minute of every game, so I think you still have a long career ahead of him.”