Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka aced the German topflight title the day his former club Arsenal slacked on their chase for the Premier League title
Xhaka, who has been an integral member of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen winning machine, scored his second Bundesliga goal for the club as the Die Werkself steamrollered to a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen to claim their first-ever Bundesliga title.
Nigeria international Victor Boniface had opened the scoring for the home side, converting a spot-kick in the 25th minute before four second-half goals – one from Xhaka and a hat-trick by Florian Wirtz – saw the hosts secure victory with an outrageous score margin.
The win saw the North Rhine-Wesphalia-based outfit shatter Bayern Munich’s grip on the German topflight in the past 11 years as they became the 13th club to win the German topflight.
Granit Xhaka was the center of attention as he joined the celebrations on and off the pitch. Regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, the Swiss sensation had endured a torrid stint since his rise to the peaks of his football career.
The last time Granit Xhaka won a league trophy was in 2011, during the heydays of his career. He had just begun his journey to a full-blown professional career in football with Swiss side Basel and was part of the team’s dominant side that won the Swiss elite division back-to-back in 2010 and 2011.
Since then, the 31-year-old had to wait 13 years before laying his hands again on a league trophy. He played for Borussia Monchengladbach for four years from 2012 to 2016 before joining Arsenal in the Premier League.
At both clubs, Xhaka shared in the club’s botched attempts to challenge for their respective domestic league titles. He came close to winning the English domestic league title with Arsenal in his last season with the club before a late capitulation which saw Manchester City pipped the Gunners to the title.
After seven years at the Emirates, Xhaka left Arsenal under controversial circumstances. He quashed rumors his wife had instigated his departure but sources close to the club reveal he was no longer part of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad plan in the wake of the signing of Declan Rice from West Ham.
Xhaka has accomplished what he could not do with Arsenal – winning a domestic league trophy – in his first season with Bayer Leverkusen.
Ironically, his Bundesliga triumph came the same day Arsenal stumbled on the Premier League title with a shock home defeat to Aston Villa.
We reported earlier his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Jeremy Frimpong had thrown a jibe at Arsenal by claiming Xhaka has accomplished what he couldn’t do with the Gunners with Leverkusen.
Xhaka will be hoping to continue on his prolific form for Bayer Leverkusen as they aim to complete a treble this season, adding the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal to the German championships.
