Transfer Rumors: Arsenal's Swiss Midfielder Hints At Desire To Leave Club

Granit Xhaka and later, Xherdan Shaqiri, celebrated their goals in a 2-1 win over Serbia with a double-headed Albanian eagle hand gesture — a political statement after the duo, both with Albanian heritage to Kosovo, had to flee the latter when they were young due to the war conflict. Clive Rose/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

Arsenal's Xhaka has been linked to a move to AS Roma
The Swiss hints at leaving the club during an interview during the 2020 Euros
Arsenal has midfield transfer targets to replace Xhaka should he leave

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka all but confirmed that he’s moving on from the team.

One of the most recognizable and consistent players on the Gunners’ roster, Xhaka has hinted at a desire to leave the club.

The 28-year-old Swiss has been linked to rejoin Jose Mourinho with Serie A’s AS Roma.

As it stands, he is currently signed to a contract with Arsenal through 2023 and has always had a role with the Gunners. However, Xhaka is very much willing and open to exploring that potential move.

Switzerland's Granit Xhaka leads the celebrations after their victory over the world champions POOL / Justin Setterfield

Arsenal acquired Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016 for a transfer fee of £35 million ($41.7 million).

The Italian side has reportedly had a £13 million ($15.5 million) bid rejected by Arsenal as the Gunnders would obviously want a bit of return of investment in their transfer fee from 2016.

Xhaka is currently with the Swiss national team for Euro 2020. In a pre-match interview, the player was asked if he was enjoying his time in Rome and he responded with: “Arsenal knows what I want to do… it is very beautiful here [in Rome].”

Since the 2019-2020 season, Xhaka has made 86 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal, with only Nicolas Pepe having more with 89.

Xhaka has played admirably under head coach Mikel Arteta, but both parties feel like it’s about time to move on.

Arsenal has been struggling with their midfielder depth and would like to add some reinforcements via the transfer market.

In fairness to Xhaka, he has had some faults pertaining to Arsenal’s eighth-place finish in the English Premier League, but Arteta has repeatedly trusted him and his ability to be a force in the midfield.

With the way things are going, Arsenal may have to move on from Xhaka sooner than later as they have been linked to a number of midfielders.

Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves, Leicester’s James Maddison and Stade Rennais FC’s Eduardo Camavinga are some of the names that have the most traction right now.