Arsenal have announced the signing of Granit Xhaka, signing the Swiss international from Borussia Monchengladbach on a ‘long-term contract’ for a reported £25 million fee. The combative midfielder’s signing was already public knowledge, with the photoshoot having leaked on Twitter earlier, and the Arsenal Twitter account referenced that while making the announcement.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed the long pursuit of Xhaka while expressing his pleasure, saying “Granit Xhaka is an exciting young player, already with good Champions League and Bundesliga experience.”
“We have been watching him for a long time now and he is a player who will add quality to our squad. We wish Granit a good Euro 2016 with Switzerland and look forward to welcoming him to Arsenal ahead of next season.”
For his part, Xhaka revealed his delight at signing for Arsenal, saying “I’m very proud to be joining Arsenal. I cannot wait to move to London, represent this special club and play in the Premier League. I will give everything to help Arsenal win trophies and make the fans happy.”
Xhaka arrives at Arsenal with great pedigree, having captained Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach from last place in the league all the way to a Champions League qualification spot, while the 23-year-old has already racked up 41 appearances for the Switzerland national football team, despite being of Albanian origin.
Also Read: 5 things Arsenal fans should know about Granit Xhaka
Arsenal’s announcement style
The Arsenal website also announced that the signing would be ratified on July 1, 2016, subject to the completion of regulatory processes; but had probably made the announcement due to the signing having leaked on Twitter earlier, while Xhaka had already made his intentions of getting his future sorted before going off to the Euros.
A few minutes before the announcement, the Arsenal Twitter account had begun retweeting tweets that had been asking Arsenal to ‘announce Xhaka’.
This sparked off plenty of tweets, but the Arsenal account then decided to go ahead and make the announcement on Twitter, with the hashtag #GunnerGranit, while saying ‘OK, let's announce Xhaka.’
Xhaka’s signing ought to significantly life the mood of Arsenal fans, who have been crying out for a quality combative midfielder for many seasons.
