Granit Xhaka ( yield 27 September 1992 ) is a swiss professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Premier League golf club Arsenal and captains the Switzerland national team. Xhaka began his career at hometown clubhouse Basel, winning the swiss Super League in each of his first two seasons. He then moved to Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012, developing a repute as a technically gifted player and natural leader aboard criticism for his temperament. [ 4 ] He was made captain of Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2015 at the age of 22, leading the team to UEFA Champions ‘ League qualification for a second consecutive season. [ 5 ] He completed a high-profile transfer to Arsenal in May 2016 for a tip in the region of £30 million. [ 6 ]
Reading: Granit Xhaka
Xhaka was separate of the Swiss team that won the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He made his senior debut in 2011 and has won over 90 caps, representing the nation at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020 .
early life sentence [edit ]
Granit Xhaka was born on 27 September 1992 in the city of Basel, Switzerland, into an cultural albanian family from Podujevo, Kosovo, then separate of the FR Yugoslavia. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] The family moved from Podujevo to Basel, Switzerland that year where Granit and his older buddy Taulant Xhaka were born. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ]
Club career [edit ]
Xhaka started his young person football with Concordia Basel and moved to Basel in 2002. He played for diverse Basel young teams and since 2008 has been a penis of the U-21 squad. between 2008 and 2010, he played 37 games for the U-21 team, scoring football team goals. [ 17 ]
basel [edit ]
Former Basel coach Thorsten Fink once said. “ Xherdan Shaqiri is the best endowment in Switzerland … after Granit Xhaka. ” [ 18 ] The swiss national football coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, has dubbed him the ‘young Schweinsteiger. ‘ [ 18 ] Since the beginning of the 2010–11 season, Xhaka played for the Basel first gear team. He made his first team debut in the third qualifying turn of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League in the away match against Debrecen in the Szusza Ferenc Stadium. Towards the end of the match, he scored the second goal in Basel ‘s 2–0 victory. He scored his first gear Super League goal in the 5–1 base acquire against FC Thun on 15 May 2011. [ 19 ] At the end of the 2010–11 season, Xhaka won the Super League Championship title with Basel and at the end of the 2011–12 season he won the Double, the League Championship title [ 20 ] and the swiss Cup [ 21 ] with the golf club .
Borussia Mönchengladbach [edit ]
On 18 May 2012, Basel announced on their home page that Xhaka had agreed terms with Lucien Favre ‘s Borussia Mönchengladbach. After aesculapian checks were completed, Xhaka signed a five-year deal with the club. The transfer fee was not disclosed by Mönchengladbach, but is estimated to be in the region of €8.5 million. [ 22 ] Xhaka made his debut in a DFB-Pokal first orotund peer against Alemannia Aachen on 18 August 2012. Three days belated, he made his first appearance in european rival for Borussia in 1–3 home plate lost to Dynamo Kyiv in qualification for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. On 25 August, he made his Bundesliga debut in the team ‘s opening match of the season, a 2–1 dwelling win against 1899 Hoffenheim. He scored his inaugural and only goal of the season in a 3–2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg. [ 23 ] In his second base season at the club, Xhaka started 29 times and made five substitute appearances as Gladbach finished in sixth set in the 2014–15 Bundesliga. [ 23 ] In 2014–15, Xhaka started all 34 2014–15 Bundesliga matches for Borussia [ 23 ] and was named in the league ‘s team of the season. [ 24 ] Borussia finished in third identify to qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. On 23 September 2015, Xhaka captained Borussia and scored his beginning goal of the season, heading in from Raffael ‘s release kick in a 4–2 gain over FC Augsburg. In the next pit, against VfB Stuttgart, Xhaka again captained the side and scored a finish in a 3–1 acquire. On 30 September, he made his first gear appearance for Borussia in the Champions League proper in a 1–2 group stage loss at home to Manchester City. [ 23 ] Xhaka received his fifth bolshevik calling card for the team in his 95th game on 20 December, for striking his opposition in the foremost half ; he voluntarily gave €20,000 to charity as an apology. [ 25 ]
arsenal [edit ]
Xhaka playing for Arsenal in 2018 On 25 May 2016, Arsenal signed Xhaka from Borussia Mönchengladbach for a fee of around £30–35 million. [ 26 ] Xhaka was signed after Arsenal allegedly backed out of N’Golo Kanté transfer due to agent fees involved which totaled more than £10 million. [ 27 ] Xhaka made his beginning appearance for Arsenal ( as a half-time substitution ) in a 2–1 acquire against the MLS All-Stars. [ 28 ] Xhaka made his competitive debut for Arsenal in the clubhouse ‘s unfold equal of the 2016–17 Premier League season, a 4–3 defeat to Liverpool, replacing midfielder Mohamed Elneny in the 65th moment while besides picking up a chicken wag in the serve. [ 29 ] His first goal for the club came on 17 September 2016, a 25-yard thunderbolt in a 4–1 Premier League victory against Hull City. [ 30 ] Four days late, he would score again from distance, this time from 30 yards in a 4–0 EFL Cup get the better of of Nottingham Forest. [ 31 ] Xhaka ‘s first Arsenal bolshevik card – and one-eighth for cabaret and area since April 2014 – came in a 3–2 winnings over Swansea City on 15 October 2016. [ 32 ] On 22 January 2017, Xhaka was sent off for the second time in the season, by referee Jon Moss, in Arsenal ‘s 2–1 home acquire against Burnley. [ 33 ] After his first goal for the club in September, he would not score in the Premier League again until doing so in May, scoring the first goal of a 2–0 victory over Manchester United, ending United ‘s guide of 25 straight games unbeaten. [ 34 ] Xhaka went on to feature throughout Arsenal ‘s triumphant FA Cup campaign. As so he started in the Cup concluding against Chelsea which the Gunners won 2–1. [ 35 ] Xhaka besides played in the 2017 Community Shield that Arsenal won on penalties over Chelsea. [ 36 ] His beginning goal of the 2017–18 season came in a 3–3 draw with Liverpool, Xhaka scored a 25-yard bombshell to take Arsenal from 2–1 to 2–2. [ 37 ] On 15 September 2018, Xhaka scored the beginning goal, from a address free complain, in a 2–1 victory against Newcastle United. [ 38 ] On 28 October 2018, he scored again from a free gripe against Crystal Palace. [ 39 ] On 27 September 2019, Arsenal coach Unai Emery confirmed that Xhaka will be the new captain for the Gunners, replacing Laurent Koscielny. [ 40 ] In the match against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on 27 October 2019, Xhaka was at the concentrate of criticism after being substituted off in the 61st moment. [ 41 ] The incident began when a parcel of Arsenal fans started to cheer when his name was called to be replaced. He was boo as he walked off the pitch, and responded by making several sarcastic gestures and angrily saying “ fuck off ” twice to the fans who jeered his name. He besides removed his new jersey before walking straight down the burrow. [ 42 ] Xhaka ‘s actions were met with significant criticism after the match, and director Unai Emery described Xhaka ‘s conduct as “ wrong ”. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] Emery besides suggested that Xhaka should apologise. [ 45 ] On 30 October 2019 the club announced that Xhaka would be offered counselling. [ 46 ] Arsenal by and by tweeted an explanation from Xhaka about the incident. [ 47 ] On 5 November 2019, barely a month and a week after his announcement as captain, Xhaka was stripped of the captain ‘s armband. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took over as the captain after previously serving as vice master. [ 48 ] [ 49 ] After this incident, Xhaka began a hiatus from the first base team team and it was deemed highly probable that Xhaka would leave Arsenal in the approaching January transplant window. [ 50 ] however, under the tenure of new coach Mikel Arteta, Xhaka was reintroduced into the team as a key actor and saw a sharp consumption in his form for the club and slowly began to win over the fans with whom he had previously had an frequently cranky relationship. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] Xhaka credited Arteta for this revival, claiming ‘He [ Arteta ] turned me around and gave me a second chance and he showed me he trusted me and I tried to give him everything back. ‘ [ 50 ] On 1 August 2020, Xhaka was selected to start in the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, and went on to win his second winners ‘ decoration as Arsenal won their 14th FA Cup. [ 52 ] On 28 August 2020, Xhaka was in the starting 11 in the 2020 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal clinched a 5–4 victory over Liverpool in the penalty gunfight after the pit was 1–1 after 90 minutes. [ 53 ] On 13 December 2020, Arsenal hosted Burnley in a Premier League fastness. Xhaka was sent off at the 56th minute, after clashing with Dwight McNeil and late grabbing Ashley Westwood by the neck. [ 54 ] The match finally ended with Burnley winning 1–0 after teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored an own goal at the 73rd infinitesimal. On 26 December 2020, He scored his beginning Premier League goal of the 2020–21 season from a unblock kick in a 3–1 home win against Chelsea. [ 55 ]
International career [edit ]
Switzerland young squads [edit ]
Xhaka has played for Swiss young person team at the U-17 tied. He participated in the Under-17 World Cup in 2009 in Nigeria. The swiss team won the World Cup. [ 56 ]
Read more: Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
He played his first game for the Switzerland national under-19 football team on 25 May 2010, as a substitute, as the team all in Austria national under-19 football team 3–2 in the Schwaz, Austria. He scored his first goal for the U-19 on 7 September 2010 as the team won 3–0 against the Czech Republic .
Switzerland under-21 [edit ]
Xhaka played his first crippled for the under-21 slope on 3 September 2010, as a utility, as the team beat the Republic of Ireland 1–0 at the Cornaredo Stadium in Lugano. [ 57 ] This was the last crippled in the qualification Group 2 to the 2011 UEFA european Under-21 Football Championship. Xhaka was member of the swiss U-21 squad that competed in the final tournament, hosted by Denmark, between 11 and 25 June 2011. The swiss team reached the final without conceding a goal, but lost to Spain 2–0 .
Switzerland senior team [edit ]
Xhaka playing for Switzerland in 2012 Before making his international debut for Switzerland, Xhaka was hush undecided whether to play for his birth area or Albania, and he complained to the albanian sports media that FSHF was ignoring him while the Swiss Football Association was showing much more concern. [ 58 ] Xhaka debuted for Switzerland at Wembley Stadium against England in a 2–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification draw on 4 June 2011. [ 59 ] On 15 November 2011, during his sixth international appearance, he scored his first external goal in the 1–0 away win against Luxembourg at the Stade Josy Barthel. [ 60 ] Switzerland besides tried to select Xhaka to participate in the 2012 Olympic Football tournament, but he opted to stay at his newfangled clubhouse for pre-season train. [ 61 ] He participated in all ten of Switzerland ‘s 2014 FIFA World Cup reservation campaign matches, scoring both goals in a 2–0 get the better of of Slovenia. [ 62 ] On 2 June 2014, Xhaka was named in Switzerland ‘s 2014 World Cup team by home coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. [ 63 ] In the team ‘s second match, Xhaka scored in a 5–2 loss to France. [ 64 ] Xhaka was selected for Euro 2016, where Switzerland ‘s campaign opened against Albania in Lens. Xhaka, whose team won 1–0, was playing against his buddy Taulant. He was voted the man of the pit. [ 65 ] Xhaka played every minute of Switzerland ‘s campaign, which ended in the round of 16 with a loss to Poland at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard ; after a 1–1 draw he was the entirely musician to not score in the punishment gunfight, shooting wide-eyed. [ 66 ] ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, there was speculation that Xhaka could switch his commitment to represent Kosovo, which had been accepted as a entire member of FIFA and were allowed to play competitive matches for the foremost prison term. Xhaka, however, published an open letter stating that his participation in Euro 2016 had disqualified him from changing his commitment, and he was thus tied to Switzerland. [ 67 ] Xhaka was named in director Vladimir Petković ‘s 23-man swiss squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. [ 68 ] On 22 June, he equalised with a long-range strike as the swiss came from behind to defeat Serbia 2–1 in their second game. He and fellow goalscorer Xherdan Shaqiri, who is besides of Kosovar descent, celebrated their goals by making an eagle gesticulate resembling the double headed eagle of the albanian flag. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] [ 71 ] [ 72 ] FIFA fined each musician 10,000 swiss francs “ for unsporting behavior adverse to the principles of fair-play ”. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] Xhaka was appointed as a irregular captain by Vladimir Petković in the absence of Stephan Lichtsteiner, which caused him to be criticised by early Swiss international Stéphane Henchoz, who claimed that Xhaka could not properly defend Switzerland ascribable to his albanian inheritance, alternatively suggesting that Lichtsteiner, Yann Sommer, or fabian Schär serve as captain. [ 75 ] In September 2019, Xhaka offered his captainship to Xherdan Shaqiri in an attempt to get him to return to the national side. [ 76 ]
personal life [edit ]
Xhaka ‘s older brother, Taulant, is besides a professional football player and plays for Basel and the Albania national team. In July 2017, Xhaka married his long-run partner, Leonita Lekaj. [ 77 ] His wife gave birth to their daughter, Ayana, on 7 October 2019. [ 78 ]
career statistics [edit ]
club [edit ]
- As of match played 6 December 2021[79]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club
Season
League
National Cup
League Cup
Europe
Other
Total
Division
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Basel
2010–11
Swiss Super League
19
1
2
0
0
0
5
1
0
0
26
2
2011–12
Swiss Super League
23
0
4
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
35
0
Total
42
1
6
0
0
0
13
1
0
0
61
2
Borussia Mönchengladbach
2012–13
Bundesliga
22
1
2
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
33
1
2013–14
Bundesliga
28
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
29
0
2014–15
Bundesliga
30
2
3
0
0
0
9
3
0
0
42
5
2015–16
Bundesliga
28
3
3
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
36
3
Total
108
6
9
0
0
0
23
3
0
0
140
9
Arsenal
2016–17
Premier League
32
2
5
0
2
1
7
1
0
0
46
4
2017–18
Premier League
38
1
0
0
3
1
6
1
1
0
48
3
2018–19
Premier League
29
4
1
0
1
0
9
0
0
0
40
4
2019–20
Premier League
31
1
6
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
41
1
2020–21
Premier League
31
1
2
0
1
0
10
0
1
0
45
1
2021–22
Premier League
5
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
Total
166
9
14
0
8
2
36
2
2
0
226
13
Career total
316
16
29
0
8
2
72
6
2
0
427
24
International [edit ]
- As of match played 28 June 2021[80]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
Switzerland
2011
6
1
2012
9
2
2013
8
1
2014
10
1
2015
6
1
2016
11
0
2017
9
2
2018
13
2
2019
10
2
2020
7
0
2021
9
0
Total
98
12
- As of match played 18 November 2019. Switzerland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Xhaka goal.[17]
Honours [edit ]
Basel
Arsenal
Switzerland U17
Switzerland U21
Individual
- Credit Suisse Youth Player of the Year: 2012
- Credit Suisse Player of the Year: 2017[89]
References [edit ]
Read more: Real Sociedad