Granit Xhaka, a former midfielder for Arsenal, said that his summer transfer to Bayer Leverkusen was “two steps forward” for his career, despite initial thoughts that the 31-year-old had taken a step backwards. The Switzerland international chose to leave the Premier League giants after seven years in order to return to Germany, and Arsenal received €25 million in exchange. Xhaka was essential to Mikel Arteta’s team during his final season as the Gunners nearly won the Premier League title; however, Xhaka decided to leave England when Declan Rice joined the North London club.
Although on paper this is a step backwards for Xhaka’s career, as many suggested at the time, the midfielder doesn’t seem to believe that after having such a fantastic first season with Bayer Leverkusen.
Through Fabrizio Romano, Xhaka spoke to BILD about his transfer to the German champions, saying, “The move from Arsenal to Bayer Leverkusen was not a step back, but rather two steps forward.”
“We need to perform better than we did last season.”
Granit Xhaka’s rookie campaign at Bayer Leverkusen was fantastic.
The previous season was the best in Bayer Leverkusen’s history, and Xhaka was a major contributor to that success. Without dropping a game, Xabi Alonso’s team won the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal as well.
The only negative aspect of their 2023–24 campaign was their loss to Atalanta in the Europa League final, which prevented Alonso’s team from winning a treble.
The Switzerland star would not have intended to offend anyone with his remarks as it is obvious that he is just happy with the decision he made for his career last summer. However, given how last season played out for Leverkusen and Xhaka, it is hard to say that the 31-year-old has taken a step backwards, especially when Arsenal went another season without a trophy.
