Granit Xhaka says Arsenal can make top four with four wins
Monday 8 May 2017 12:50, UK
Granit Xhaka believes four wins from Arsenal's remaining four games will be enough for a Champions League spot.
Xhaka's deflected goal helped Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 on Sunday, and a similar result at Southampton on Wednesday would take them above United into fifth place.
Arsene Wenger needs either Liverpool or Manchester City to falter on the run-in if his record of Champions League qualification is to extend to a 19th straight year.
But Xhaka is confident wins against Saints, Stoke, Sunderland and Everton would maintain the manager's run.
"We always have hope," he said. "Hope dies last. It's up to us, we need some luck along the way, but if we win the next four games, I'm convinced that we can do it."
Xhaka's first season in the Premier League has been mixed, critics highlighting two straight red cards as evidence of his struggles to adapt.
But Wenger praised the Switzerland international's performance against United and said his £35m signing was "slowly getting the stature in the middle of the park".
Xhaka said: "I think in general it was a good performance from us. When everything comes together like that, you look good on a personal level too.
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"I'm really satisfied with my performance and the performance of the team, which is most important.
"I didn't sign here for five years [to not improve as a player]. This is a top club, a great club. We're having a season where things have been a bit more difficult but I'm convinced that in the coming years we can show another side."
Xhaka has been booked in eight of his past 15 games, but he said: "It's my style of play and nobody can make me change that.
"Even if I get another red card, then that happens. You become cleverer, maybe look more and since my red card, I think things have improved.
"It's not like I played my first football match in England. For me football is pretty much the same everywhere, the ball is round, but maybe tactically things are different than at other clubs I've played for."
