Troy Deeney says he’s buzzing for Arsenal star over form this season

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Troy Deeney has told JOE that he is buzzing to see Granit Xhaka silence his critics with his form for Arsenal this season, insisting that the midfielder has never been a bad player.

Xhaka’s transformation has been one of the most dramatic in Premier League history. He came in for a lot of criticism during his first few years at the Emirates following his £30 million move. And it did appear that his relationship with Arsenal supporters was damaged beyond repair at one stage.

Few will forget the events which occurred when he was substituted against Crystal Palace during Unai Emery’s tenure. He was stripped of the captaincy shortly after. And it would have been a safe bet to assume that he would probably never play for the club again.

Deeney praises Xhaka after turnaround at Arsenal

Xhaka did come back into the fold. But it was still some time before he became a fan favourite. However, everything has changed over the last 18 months, particularly this season.

The Swiss has been exceptional this term. And it is almost remarkable to think about how far he has come. However, Deeney has suggested that he has always had the ability he is showing now. Instead, he was paying the price for being the skipper at a time where Arsenal were going through an extremely difficult period.

“Granit’s been great. And I’m buzzing for him to be totally honest with you. Because he went through a lot of stick. Obviously, playing against him, he was never a bad player. He’s not a bad player,” he told JOE.

“I think he fell on the sword a little bit in terms of being Arsenal captain. ‘It was his fault’.

“Obviously, I’ve been captain in tough times. You’re the focal point. So you’re never looking at flair players. You never see a flair player really get stick when you go through the bad times. But when you look at your captain, or your centre-half or your goalie, they’ll be the ones that’ll be getting it. ‘He’s not good enough’. It’s part and parcel of being a leader.”

Of course, Deeney has had history with Arsenal in the past. But he has often been complimentary about the club. And any criticism has seemingly been based on the fact that Arsenal should be a team which sets the standards in this country.

Xhaka took so much criticism in previous years. He certainly deserved some of it. But there have been times where it has appeared that nothing he does is going to be good enough to prove people wrong.

So he deserves all of the plaudits coming his way now.