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LONDON. — Mikel Arteta has revealed that he threatened to axe Granit Xhaka if the midfielder refused to adapt his position at Arsenal.
Xhaka has played a key role in the first half of Arsenal’s impressive season as the Gunners sit top of the English Premier League football table, five points clear of champions Manchester City.
The Switzerland international has shown a significant improvement in attacking areas this term with three goals and three assists already in the English Premier League.
Arteta claims he needed to “unlock” Xhaka’s full potential in order for Arsenal to improve and suggests that the 30-year-old would have found himself out of the team if he struggled to evolve.
When asked about Xhaka’s change to a more advanced role this season, Arteta told Sky Sports: “I think it was a necessity.
“I think the squad wanted to evolve to another level and be more dominant and have more resources in the final third to attack and to score more goals. We needed to make that change.
“I spoke to him at the end of the season and said, ‘I need to unlock something in your brain because you’re so comfortable and confident playing in this area that you have forgot what is actually going to win us the game and the team now demands somebody here, so unless you unlock that I’m going to have to do something about it.”‘ — Metro
Online Reporter