Granit Xhaka’s Sunderland renaissance peaks with emotional reunion against Arsenal

Granit Xhaka walked back into a familiar storm and left with another statement on his new project. In a breathless 2–2 draw against Arsenal on Saturday, the Switzerland captain shepherded a youthful Sunderland through late drama, wearing the armband and shaping tempo in all the little moments that decide elite matches. A year removed from a historic double in Germany, the 33-year-old is now the heartbeat of one of the Premier League’s surprise top-four contenders.

Granit Xhaka vs. Arsenal: control in the chaos

The subtext was irresistible: Xhaka against the club where he rebuilt his reputation and leadership profile. The match itself offered a neat encapsulation of his Sunderland role. When Arsenal tried to pin the hosts, Xhaka kept the ball moving with first-time passes, drew fouls at the right angles to reset pressure, and barked teammates into compact lines after turnovers. In the last 15 minutes—when legs go heavy and details fray—he was the loudest problem-solver on the pitch, helping Sunderland salvage a result that felt like two points gained rather than one lost.

Why Xhaka’s Sunderland version looks different—and better

• Positioning as a metronome, not a magnet. Rather than living in the back line to start build-up, Xhaka takes higher starting spots, receiving on the half-turn to speed play and invite third-man runs.

• Selective risk. The long diagonals remain, but the frequency is lower and the success rate higher. Sunderland use them as momentum changers, not default exits.

• Set-piece stewardship. His deliveries and blocking assignments are quietly adding expected goals every week; even when the first ball isn’t perfect, the second phase is choreographed.

• Vocal leadership with practical coaching. Teammates reference him as a “second coach”—from touchline cues to in-game tweaks (e.g., swapping the six and eight in rest defense to protect against counters).

The numbers behind the narrative

Across the opening block of matches, Xhaka’s ledger shows a tidy spread: a goal, multiple assists, and top-tier involvement in chance creation without forcing low-percentage shots. More telling are the repeatable actions: high touches in central lanes, progressive passes that split pressure, and a low turnover profile under a press. Sunderland’s points haul mirrors those fundamentals—when Xhaka completes 80%+ of his progressive attempts, they tend to leave with something.

From Leverkusen’s double to Wearside’s belief

Last season’s unbeaten domestic run in Germany hardened Xhaka’s decision-making. The cadence of high-stakes matches—protecting leads, managing time, balancing ambition with control—now travels into a league where margins are even thinner. Sunderland benefit from that lived experience every weekend. The squad skews young, the ideas are modern, and the costs of naïveté can be brutal; Xhaka’s presence compresses the learning curve.

International ripple effect: Switzerland’s anchor

Switzerland’s autumn window arrives with Xhaka still at the center of everything. He remains the national team’s tone-setter, and the club role only reinforces that standing. Fitness permitting, expect the same blueprint internationally: double pivots that release fullbacks, line-breaking passes into the half-spaces, and the familiar captain’s traffic control when the game turns transitional.

What Saturday’s reunion revealed

1. He can still bend big matches. Not always with a headline action, but with a sequence of small, correct choices under pressure.

2. Press resistance remains elite. Arsenal’s midfield squeeze often wins the ball back high; Xhaka’s angles and body shape helped Sunderland play through it.

3. Leadership is leverage. The late equalizer owed something to structure—rest defense set, counterpress ready—habits drilled all week and enforced all match.

What’s next for Granit Xhaka and Sunderland

The calendar tightens before the international break, and the table is compressed enough that a single wobble can reshuffle the top six. For Sunderland, the directive is simple: keep Xhaka’s touch map in the middle third (not pinned to the back line), sustain set-piece quality, and guard against fatigue in the minutes after substitutions. If those levers hold, the club’s early-season ceiling—Europe with a puncher’s chance for more—stays very real.

Granit Xhaka didn’t just find a second act; he authored a new chapter. Saturday’s 2–2 against Arsenal framed the story perfectly: past respect acknowledged, present influence undeniable, future ambitions alive and loud on Wearside.