Friday 20 January 2017 11:58, UK
Granit Xhaka speaks to Sky Sports' Patrick Davison ahead of Arsenal's Super Sunday clash with Burnley - and admits it's taken him time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League...
When the call first came from Arsene Wenger, Granit Xhaka was blown away, and for a few months he looked like a player caught in a whirlwind.
In the past, Xhaka has admitted he could "hardly speak" during his initial phone conversation with Wenger, during which the seeds were sown for last summer's move.
However, even before his £30m fee was agreed, the midfielder knew his big challenge would be getting up to speed - literally.
"I followed it [the Premier League] from when I was really young and the league keeps getting quicker and quicker," says the midfielder, who was used sparingly by Wenger during the first few months of the season.
"You notice it already in training, not just the games. In games, you notice there's more sprints than in Bundesliga. It takes a while to get used to.
"It's quicker and more physical, that separates it from the other major leagues in Europe."
Just as Xhaka got to grips with the pace of the English game, he began to earn the manager's trust. Cameos from the bench are now few and far between with Xhaka starting the last ten games in league and cup competitions.
I think every new player needs time when they come to a new club and a new country, and I certainly did.
"I think every new player needs time when they come to a new club and a new country, and I certainly did," says Xhaka who, as a child, dreamed of making his way to the Premier League.
"He [Wenger] made those decisions and now I'm happy that I've been able to work in training and get myself into the starting 11."
The first few months of his Arsenal career actually mirror the early part of his time in Germany. There too - after signing for Borussia Monchengladbach as an £6.3m teenager - he had to be patient.
Only there he handled it differently, at the time saying he would "speak to the manager" as he had already proved he could "play at the highest level".
Back then the comments earned him the anger of the manager and his team-mates. Now he's much more guarded, or sensible, depending on how you look at it. He's done just a handful of interviews since arriving in England and, when he does do them (like in this one), he prefers to speak in German despite having pretty reasonable English.
"The first few months in a new country are always really hard," he adds. "Looking back I made some mistakes when I first went to 'Gladbach, I spoke too much and didn't do enough [on the pitch].
"Moving to England, again it's a new language to learn and I've got to get use to the mentality, the culture but I think I've integrated myself really well into this team and I'm happy so far," he says, sounding like the man who captained Gladbach when he was just 22.
Integrating and fitting in were never likely to be problems for Xhaka. He was born in Switzerland in 1992, not long after his parents had left Kosovo in search of a better life.
"We still visit there quite often, we still go on holiday and see it," says Xhaka, who has won nearly 50 caps for Switzerland but whose younger brother Taulant represents Albania at international level.
"Maybe if I was born in Kosovo I might not be where I am now, so I need to thank Switzerland, of course, because I went to school there, learnt to play football there and started my career there.
"I want to thank my parents for enabling me to do that. I got there with a bit of luck on the way but alongside that there's been lots and lots of hard work as well."
The hard work won't be stopping any time soon. For Arsenal, he believes, there's still much more to come.
"I still want to improve in every way, I'm a young player I want to work and that's my aim, to improve in every single aspect of my play," he says.
"It's too early to say what's going to happen this season. A club like Arsenal it's normal that expectations are high this club must compete for titles and that's wha we want to do."
Xhaka's presence is growing. What we've seen so far might just be the calm before the storm.
Watch the full interview with Granit Xhaka during a Super Sunday triple-header that starts on Sky Sports 1 HD from 11.30am. Watch Southampton v Leicester, Arsenal v Burnley and then Chelsea v Hull.
