Sports descent: this change is not like Jaku

class=”sc-29f61514-0 fQbOYE”>

Granit Xhaka is moving from Arsenal to Leverkusen. The change is understandable for personal reasons, but from a sporting point of view, it’s a relegation. And he does not fit the character of Jaka. Because he has accepted all the challenges so far.

Captain Naty leaves London through the big door. He was instrumental in bringing Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League and playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2017. Only the outstanding Manchester City prevented the Gunners from winning their first league title since 2004.

The number 34 was already considered unlucky in north London after Xhaka fell out with fans in the fall of 2019. But the Swiss did not give up, no matter how much criticism and anger fell on him. Now, after nearly 300 games for Arsenal, he has retired as a club legend to applause.

But: Xhaka is in his prime at 30. His contract was for another year. The Gunners are renewing, a qualitatively wider squad cannot keep up. The fight for a permanent place is growing. Jaka no longer faces this problem.

Instead of the Premier League, he again plays in the Bundesliga, instead of the Premier class “only” in the Europa League. With Xabi Alonso, Xhaka has a coach who is considered promising. But as stable and successful as Leverkusen has been over the past few decades, Bayer is just as little moving for people in the region. Cologne and Mönchengladbach are responsible for the great emotions in the Rhineland, not Werkself, which is subsidized by a pharmaceutical company.

The sweetened homecoming of a wife with a well-secured multi-year contract might be tempting. But it’s also a step back into your comfort zone. And with that, something different from Jaku.

Source: Blick