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Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is set to be offered a new contract with the club.
It is the latest sign of the career redemption that he has enjoyed under Mikel Arteta. When he was booed off the pitch and threw the captain’s armband off in disgust whilst playing under the Spaniard’s predecessor Unai Emery against Crystal Palace in 2019, it was widely assumed that he would never play for the club again.
But Arteta has always had faith in him and he has rewarded that by becoming a key figure both on and off the field, a leader of the team, although Martin Ødegaard wears the armband.
This season, Xhaka has been deployed in a more advanced role and, freed of some of the defensive responsibilities that have led to some of his high profile mistakes in the past, has revelled in his new found freedom.
Talks are expected to start after the end of the World Cup where he will captain the Swiss national side.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.