Arsène Wenger giving £30m Granit Xhaka time to adapt

Arsène Wenger is confident Granit Xhaka will make a significant impact at Arsenal but the manager has called for patience because the £30 million (€35 million) summer signing needs time to get used to the pace of the Premier League. The Switzerland international has been used sparingly, starting only twice, with Wenger favouring the tried and tested partnership of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla.

Wenger believes Xhaka will be best suited to playing as a box-to-box player and says the midfielder's omission from the starting XI in the past two games, against Southampton and Paris Saint-Germain, was because he wanted familiarity in the centre of the pitch.

“It’s not about his quality at the moment as he adapts to the pace of the English game,” Wenger said. “And for me it’s about pairs as well who work together. Coquelin and Cazorla have worked well together. He will play games and every week he is stronger . He will have a huge impact.

“He has the stature, he has the power, he has the strength. What we want is to use that in a very efficient way. We are in September. Many players take time to get into the team, but he will do that without any problem.

“I personally prefer him as a box-to-box player, because he has the engine, he has the power, he has the long pass.” Guardian Service