Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for stand-out Bundesliga midfielder Granit Xhaka in the recent weeks and after Xhaka’s comments in mid-week it seemed that there was serious interest on the part of the Gunners.
But,’Gladbach’s Sporting Director Max Eberl has quickly moved to end that speculation. Monchengladbach are currently competing for the Champions League positions and much of it has been due to Granit Xhaka’e exceptional performances for the club. He has scored three goals in 15 Bundesliga appearances and a number of European clubs are reportedly keeping tabs on the midfielder. Arsenal’s defensive midfield problems are no secret and it was thought the Gunners were going to come in with a bid for the Switzerland international but Eberl has cleared the air. “There are no offers, there is no figure that I have seen in black and white and there is no contact with Arsenal,” he said. “I would like to say clearly once again at this point: Granit Xhaka wants to stay in Monchengladbach and we do not want to sell him.”
Eberl may have put an end to all the speculation regarding Xhaka’s future but it was Eberl whose earlier comments gave other teams hopes of signing Xhaka. Eberl had said that Gladbach would be willing to listen to substantial offers for the midfielder. Read more about what he said here
And if that wasn’t enough encouragement for the Premier League clubs, Xhaka made things easier by saying that it is his “childhood dream” to play in the Premier League. Wait, that’s not all , Xhaka even joked that he had spoken to Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin and the latter had agreed to give up his shirt number for the Swiss midfielder!!
Nevertheless, Xhaka looks to be available in the summer and a €30 million offer might be enough to sign him.