There is a particular kind of player who divides supporters not through lack of ability, but through the sheer intensity of how he plays. Granit Xhaka has spent much of his career being exactly that kind of figure — someone whose talent was rarely in question, yet whose temperament and choices invited constant debate. And then, almost quietly, something shifted. The player who once seemed destined to be remembered primarily for friction and frustration found a different ending, one that reframed his entire career.
A Career Marked by Contradiction
Xhaka's path through European football has never followed a simple narrative. Born in Basel to a family of Kosovar Albanian heritage, he came through the ranks at FC Basel before moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach as a teenager. By the time he was 21, he was wearing the captain's armband at Gladbach — a responsibility that said as much about his maturity as it did about his tactical understanding of the game.
Arsenal signed him in 2016, and it was in North London that the contradictions became most visible. On one hand, he was arguably the most technically gifted central midfielder in the squad, capable of delivering long diagonal passes that few of his teammates could replicate. On the other hand, there were red cards — too many of them — and moments when his decision-making under pressure seemed to abandon him completely.
The lowest point came in 2019, when he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy after an angry confrontation with supporters during a match against Crystal Palace. He had been substituted, heard boos, and reacted by cupping his ears and shouting back at the crowd. It was the kind of moment that can define a player's reputation for years, and for a time it seemed it might end his Arsenal career entirely.
What got less attention was that he stayed. He rebuilt the relationship, gradually, match by match. Under Mikel Arteta, he found a more disciplined role and, eventually, a surprising level of consistency. The player who had seemed closest to leaving became one of Arsenal's most reliable performers during the 2022–23 season, even contributing career-best attacking output as the club pushed Manchester City in the title race.
The Leverkusen Chapter
When Xhaka left Arsenal for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, there was a temptation to see it as a step back — a player in his thirties returning to the Bundesliga for a quieter final act. What actually happened was something few anticipated.
Under Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen played a brand of football that suited Xhaka's strengths almost perfectly. He was given the role of the deep-lying conductor, the player who set tempo, distributed from deep positions, and provided the platform on which more attacking teammates could operate. It was a position that rewarded exactly the qualities he had always possessed — passing range, physical presence, tactical intelligence — while minimizing the situations that had historically caused him trouble.
Leverkusen went unbeaten in the Bundesliga that season, winning the club's first ever German league title. Xhaka was central to the achievement, not as a flashy match-winner but as the stabilizing presence in midfield that made everything else possible. He was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season, and for many observers, he was the signing of the year in German football.
What made this chapter so compelling was not just the trophy, but the contrast it created with the earlier parts of his career. The same player who had been criticized for losing control was now being praised for giving a team control. The context had changed, and so had the perception.
The Swiss National Team and a Different Kind of Legacy
Xhaka's international career deserves more attention than it typically receives outside Switzerland. He earned over 130 caps, played in multiple European Championships and World Cups, and served as captain during one of the most successful periods in Swiss football history.
His performances for Switzerland often displayed the best version of his game. In tournaments, where tactical discipline and the ability to execute a specific game plan matter enormously, Xhaka was frequently excellent. He helped Switzerland reach the quarterfinals of Euro 2020, where they pushed Spain to penalties after eliminating France in a memorable comeback.
In October 2024, he announced his retirement from international football. He left as Switzerland's most-capped outfield player, a record that reflects both his durability and the consistent trust placed in him across multiple coaching regimes. For a player whose club career had its share of turbulence, the international record offered a quieter counter-narrative — one of sustained reliability and leadership.
What His Career Reveals About Modern Football
Xhaka's story is interesting not just as a personal journey, but as a reflection of how modern football evaluates players. In an era that increasingly values specialists — the defensive destroyer, the creative number ten, the ball-carrying number eight — Xhaka was something less fashionable: a generalist midfielder who could do many things well but whose profile didn't fit neatly into tactical categories.
At Arsenal, that sometimes worked against him. The Premier League's intensity and the specific demands of Arsenal's system at various points exposed the edges of his game. At Leverkusen, playing in a structure built around his strengths, he looked like a different player entirely.
This is not simply a story of a player improving. It is a story about fit — about how the same skill set can look limited or elite depending on the tactical environment surrounding it. There is a lesson in that which extends beyond any single individual.
It is also worth noting that Xhaka's career challenges a common assumption about players who struggle with discipline early on. The narrative that temperament is fixed — that a player who collects cards and confronts fans will always do so — turned out to be incomplete. Xhaka did not become a different person, but he did become a different professional. The environment, the manager, and the role all contributed to allowing his best qualities to come forward.
A Fair Assessment
If there is a fair way to assess Granit Xhaka's career, it probably lies somewhere between the two extremes that have often defined public discussion of him. He was never the liability that his harshest critics suggested, and he was never the world-class midfielder that some defenders claimed. What he was, for a long time, was a very good player operating in contexts that did not always bring out his best, and who eventually found a setting where his qualities could shine without the same level of compromise.
His final years at Arsenal and his time at Leverkusen will likely be what people remember most. That is not a bad way for a career to be remembered — as a story of persistence, adaptation, and eventual resolution. Many footballers never get that kind of ending. Xhaka earned his.