Top 60 Granit Xhaka Quotes

When you want too much, you don’t usually achieve much.

No, Borussia is not falling apart. It does not matter whichever players will leave. That is what the past has showed. The club has developed and actually improved despite big-name players leaving.

I think in football everything is possible.

It’s true that my father was imprisoned for three and a half years, and it was because he stood up for what he believed in. It’s not a taboo subject in our household. We talk about it. After all, I want to know what happened.

The first few months in a new country are always really hard.

It could be very costly if you don’t have a clear mind during a tournament.

I remember I was young, and the first game I watched was in the Premier League. It’s a big dream for me, and now that I’m here, I am very, very happy.

Ottmar is a big coach and a good gentleman. I don’t know if I’m a young Schweinsteiger; I’m another player. I am Granit Xhaka.

I never used to be taken seriously as a Swiss person.

It’s aggressive, and I like the way Arsenal play football. It’s not like other countries, but it’s very, very nice here.

When I went to Gladbach from Basel in 2012, I put a lot of pressure on myself at first, and it was too heavy. I will not put any pressure on myself at Arsenal, even though the transfer fee was high.

My brother was always going to go in the direction of football. With me, it was more between school and football. Eventually, it worked out for both of us. We’re pleased to have gone down that path. I’m proud that my parents always supported us, in good and in bad times. You need that.

Arsenal prepare the players in the best way. They pay attention to every detail. We are able to recover optimally during our flights. The food and the service, everything’s geared perfectly to each other.

It’s difficult to say no when Manchester City want you and you could play there. That much I have to admit.

I have never had any contact with Bayern Munich, let alone have agreed personal terms.

When I was younger, even though I had a big brother, my parents would give me the house key every day.

The Premier League is not my goal but a childhood dream. It is a dream that could be fulfilled.

I don’t mind being criticised, because I am not that easy to knock down, and no-one can destroy me. But I am bothered by the stupid people who call me dirty, brainless, and an idiot. You don’t say words like these to someone who you know nothing about.

One of the most revealing details about my parents is that they only got together three months before my dad’s arrest.

Here in the Premier League, you have to give 100 per cent for the whole 90 minutes. It’s not like after 70 minutes you can say, ‘We’re 2-0 up, so let’s have some fun now’ – that doesn’t happen in the Premier League.

In football, you get criticised if you are sent off. 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.

I am in an outstanding city, an outstanding club. The only thing that Arsenal has been missing is a league title.

You can see the players are world-class just by the way they pass the ball. Ozil, Sanchez, and Cazorla, for example, are huge personalities. Even though the club maybe spent more money on me, I can still learn a lot from them in any respect.

I know that there are coaches in the Bundesliga that have said in team meetings, ‘Provoke Xhaka; he will eventually go ballistic.’ I think that is sad. That, in my view, has nothing to do with football.

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 like to play football. I’m an aggressive player and also a leader.

I’ve had four beautiful years at Monchengladbach and owe the club a lot.

When I think about a mid-table club like Everton spending £150 million during the summer, I am lost for words.

In football, you just have to develop yourself.

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.

I think, when a manager has been at a club for more than 20 years, he can only have a positive impact.

Individual quality doesn’t decide games for us but the whole team.

I knew before I arrived that the pressure at a club that challenges for the title grows quickly. The season is long; we’ll become stronger with every game.

Actually, it’s normal when you come to a new club and country: you need to get used to the language, the philosophy of the team, the squad, the coach.

The family is our greatest luxury.

Arsenal were really interested in me for a long time, and I think that I fit into the football Arsenal play.

London is really nice, and I’m really happy here, but, of course, I’ve moved here to play football and not just to be in the city.

I’m a hard-working young man who believes in myself.

I have a good relationship with the Albanian fans. But when you are called a traitor – that is such a harsh word. Most of the Albanian fans respect me. But ‘traitor’ is unacceptable considering the background of my family.

The fans are amazing. I’m really happy here at Arsenal, and I’m going to do my best for this club.

I compliment Kramer perfectly. We both put in a lot of legwork, win many balls, and we’re comfortable with the ball at our feet. We also talk a lot both off and on the pitch.

People who know me know that I don’t talk about the play-offs. It’s not an issue for me at all.

I will give everything to help Arsenal win trophies and make the fans happy.

I don’t think Gladbach are on the same level as Arsenal.

You have to be completely there in every game, and as soon as you drop your level even one per cent, you concede goals.

He’s not a coach who speaks to you every day. Wenger has spoken to me two or three times. He’s told me he’s very impressed by how I train and how I’m a disciplined character.

My game is about being aggressive, and I’m not the same player if you take that away from me.

I heard my new team-mates saying, ‘We have got to hope that we don’t go down.’ I thought to myself, ‘What kind of a mentality is that?’

We are young; we are naive with money. Money can go fast. If anyone thinks he is something better just because he has more money in the account, then he can very quickly fall on your face.

We always have hope. Hope dies last.

I’ve picked up quite a few yellow cards in the last few years – a few reds, too. That was the case as a youth player as it is now. But I don’t see it as a problem. That’s how I play. If you take that away, then I wouldn’t be where I am now. So I don’t think the yellow cards or the red cards are too big of an issue.

There a lot of occasions when Albanians cause trouble, but then we are also very nice people. People sometimes forget that there are good people from the Balkans as well.

I am still young; I am still fresh, and I want more.

I am a regular for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and I want to progress still further.

I can’t stand people who are backward. I am honest, straightforward. I don’t like to pretend. And I will not change either.

I know I’ve made mistakes, and sometimes I’ve talked about things too openly or directly. That wasn’t good, and I’ve learned from that.

A club like Arsenal, it’s normal that expectations are high. This club must compete for titles, and that’s what we want to do.

My dad played football, too, in the former Yugoslavia.

You always need a certain amount of time to fully adjust; it was no different when I moved to the Bundesliga.

Everyone fights for everyone else. If someone has a bad day, then the others are there for him. And if a player makes a mistake, then the others can compensate for that. Those sorts of things are crucial at this level, and it’s really important that we perform as a unit.