The Gunners got over their previous Selhurst Park disappointments by defeating Crystal Palace 2-0 in south London before securing a 4-2 victory over Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The two best players during the win over the Foxes were clearly striker Gabriel Jesus and central midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Jesus was involved in all four goals, scoring twice and providing a further two assists whilst Xhaka ran the game in the middle of the park whilst also contributing in the final third with one goal and an assist. Now, The Athletic have reported that the two Arsenal stars have been nominated to support captain Martin Odegaard in leadership roles and will don the armband in the young playmaker's absence.
Jesus only signed for the north Londoners last month, joining in a blockbuster £45 million transfer from Pep Guardiola's City to lead Mikel Arteta 's attack. However, the Brazilian has evidently made a significant impact both on and off the pitch in such a short space of time.
Naming Xhaka as one of the squad's leaders is not as surprising considering how vocal he is on the pitch, although it could be somewhat controversial given his previous strained relationship with the Arsenal faithful. The Swiss international previously was captain of the club under Unai Emery's stewardship before a falling out with the fans in October 2019 led to him being stripped of the armband.
Since then, the 29-year-old's consistent performances and candid interviews have helped build a solid relationship back with supporters and he is said to be a popular and respected member within the dressing room.
No comments:
Post a Comment