Arsenal

Santi Cazorla talks up 'great' Granit Xhaka partnership

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 28 August 2016

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla heaps praise on summer signing Granit Xhaka, who he believes is already proving to be a "great" addition to the squad.

Santi Cazorla has admitted that is enjoying his game at Arsenal this season after being paired with Granit Xhaka in midfield.

The Spaniard sat alongside the summer signing in a defensive-midfield two against Watford, offering support from deep and getting on the scoresheet through an early penalty.

Cazorla faces stiff competition to keep hold of his place in the starting lineup, with a number of players having the ability to play in the position, but the 31-year-old is happy with the way things are panning out.

"I feel very well. [Xhaka's] a great player, we have a lot of players in this position, great players like [Francis] Coquelin, [Mohamed] Elneny, Jack Wilshere," he told the club's official website. "So it's very important to play together and we are happy to play with him."

On his ninth-minute penalty, which helped Arsenal on their way to an eventual 3-1 victory at Vicarage Road, Cazorla added: "I don't know if it's a penalty or not but Alexis [Sanchez] told me the defender touched him so it's a great thing for us and the most important thing, it was a goal and I helped the team."

Arsenal head into the international break with four points from their first three games, having followed up an opening-game defeat to Liverpool with a draw and a win against Leicester City and Watford respectively.