Granit Xhaka: 'Joining Arsenal an easy choice to make'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 31 July 2016

Granit Xhaka praises Arsenal's "attractive football" which he claims is the main reason behind why he opted for North London over a potential switch to Liverpool.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has claimed that joining the club was an easy decision to make due to the "attractive" style of play at the Emirates Stadium.

The Switzerland international is the Gunners' only senior addition so far during the transfer window after joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in a £30m deal in May.

Xhaka was linked with a move to numerous sides before officially committing to Arsenal, including Premier League rivals Liverpool, but after featuring for 45 minutes in the victory over an MLS All-Star team on Friday, the 23-year-old believes that there was only ever one choice.

"I personally never had contact with [Jurgen] Klopp or Liverpool," he told the Daily Mail. "A while ago, I spoke to Arsene Wenger. But this club fits to me and I fit to it.

"Arsenal play attractive football and I enjoy that. I think you could see against the MLS side that this team has a lot of quality and we'll give our all to show that on the pitch. It's a really nice feeling to play for such a great and big club for the first time.

"I really enjoyed it and I think it showed on the pitch that I've been welcomed really well, that I have the trust of my team-mates. I'm really pleased to have finally played my first game."

Xhaka, who scored three times in 36 appearances for Gladbach last season, was late joining up with Arsenal due to his Euro 2016 commitments with Switzerland.