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Die Fohlen confirm Xhaka move to Arsenal?

Are The Gunners about to wrap up their first and possibly biggest deal of the summer? Arsenal's pursuit of Swiss ace Granit Xhaka is public knowledge and the papers have recently been reporting the two clubs are — in football transfer terms — pennies apart as Borussia Mönchengladbach hold out for a €2m increase in Arsenal's €43m bid.

Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger seems to be putting a marker down for the new season having watched his side disappoint in the most open title race in recent memory. Lack of options in midfield after the injury to Santi Cazorla, due in part to the inability of other players to combine effectively has seen Wenger earmark a more adaptable foil in the defensive midfield spot. Xhaka looks to be that man and you can read all about his strengths and why he'd be better for us than Kanté in this article.

£35m is a lot of scratch for a defensive midfielder so expectations will be high. However, the deal needs to be done first.

Die Fohlen put a statement on their website: "There has been a specific offer for the Swiss midfielder [Xhaka]. [We have] an agreement with the interested club but [it] is still pending."

You have to wonder if that's their way of putting pressure on Arsenal. We're close in valuation but clearly not close enough to make an annoucement. Perhaps Mönchengladbach believe that by creating a media frenzy with this statement that they'll give Arsenal no choice but to up their offer in fear of looking like fools should the deal collapse.

Arsenal can ill afford the backlash that would come with yet another publicly failed transfer deal - we're still talking about he Suarez nonsense! It's now incumbent on Arsenal to get the deal done. Die Fohlen have played their hand and played it well. Arsenal will have been holding firm to send a message to other clubs that we can't be mugged off with excessive transfer fees but now they have no choice but to submit to the demands of the German club or risk their ire of their fans.

So... pending an official announcement, I think it's safe to say that Xhaka is now an Arsenal player and we can all enjoy watching the Switzerland games and getting, what will be a first for many, a proper look at the man we've rated - financially at least - at the level of Alexis.

Welcome Granit.

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Tags: Granit Xhaka, #WelcomeGranit, #WelcomeXhaka, Die Fohlen, Arsenal sign Xhaka

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