Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has defended his tough-tackling style of play, claiming that he wouldn't be himself without it.
The Switzerland international joined the club from Borussia Monchengladbach for around£30m during the summer. However, hehas beenseldom used by Arsene Wenger, making just six Premier League appearances so far.
His aggressiveness in the middle has seen him rack up three yellow cards, as well as a red, but he insists that it's just part of who he is, and the club wouldn't have bought him if he didn't possess this particular attribute.
"Yellow cards and red cards are part of what Granit Xhaka is," he said via ESPN UK. "I'd no longer be the same player without my rigorousness, and certainly not the player Arsenal wanted."
Wenger has admitted that the player needs a bit of time to adapt to English football, yet he's sure that he will do well.
He needs to adapt to the way we play and the tactical pace of the English game,� the Frenchman told theGuardianlast week. I am confident he will do very well.
He's more a deep playmaker I think than a box-to-box player. He does not get into the final third of the opposition half a lot.
He is more a guy who has a fantastic pass to play through the lines. He gets the ball from the defenders and finds the high midfield.�
The long-serving boss also took a dig at the fans who have been complaining over the player's lack of playing time.
People want you to buy players but when you buy them we only pick 11 and not 22 and they feel sorry for the 11 who do not play. But you want them to compete and convince you that they can get in the team and it becomes obvious they have to play.�
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