Granit Xhaka has insisted that Per Mertesacker is the real leader at Arsenal. Mertesacker hasn’t featured for the Gunners this season so far.
The Gunners recently activated a clause in Mertesacker’s contract which will extend his stay for a year. The 32-year-old is still recovering from an injury and needs a bit of time to get into first team football.
Xhaka arrived this summer from Borussia Monchengladbach for a fee of £34m. He hasn’t had the opportunity to play alongside the veteran defender. The ex-German international had been handed the captaincy after the retirement of Mikel Arteta.
Xhaka is still trying to adapt to the Premier League after his much talked about transfer. The 24-year-old Swiss international said, “Unfortunately I have not had the chance to train with Per since I arrived here, actually.
“Straight away, I noticed his importance in the dressing room because he is a real leader here and hopefully he can get back healthy and we can have him for the second half of the season.”
