Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal football club has confirmed that Granit Xhaka’s proposed move to Roma is off and that he expects the midfielder to be a “key member” of the team in the current season.
Earlier in the summer, the defensive midfielder seemed destined to link up with Jose Mourinho at the Serie A club, though last week reports started to circulate that Xhaka would remain with the Gunners.
Xhaka recently returned to training before scoring in Arsenal’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, with Arteta’s comments coming after the match.
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“Granit [Xhaka] is going to stay with us. He is a key member of our squad,” Arteta confirmed.
Xhaka briefly had the home side on terms as he headed home from a Nicolas Pepe corner – the high point of the match for Arteta’s side.
Meanwhile, the manager also confirmed that an injury suffered by fellow midfielder Thomas Partey during that fixture is causing the Gunners significant concern.
“At the moment, it’s not looking good because he was in pain and he could not continue,” he said of the former Atletico Madrid star, who was forced off five minutes before the break in the clash at the Emirates.
The Gunners presently have Mohamed Elneny and new signing Albert Sambi to fill the void left by Partey, yet the knock is a worrying one given the Gunners start their Premier League campaign against Brentford on Aug 13.
