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Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara has claimed that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been better than Arsenal's Granit Xhaka this season.
Both north London clubs have enjoyed excellent starts to the season, with the understated midfielders putting on masterclasses in disciplined performances.
Xhaka has often been criticized during his time at the Emirates Stadium. However, he has started all eight of Arsenal's games this season, scoring once and creating three assists so far.
Speaking on talkSPORT, O'Hara claimed that Hojbjerg had been better in the league for Spurs than Xhaka has for Arsenal. He stated (as per HITC Sport):
“Hojbjerg has been unbelievable this season."
Co-host Jason Cundy then argued in favor of the Swiss international, claiming that the Spurs star hadn't performed as well. O'Hara replied:
“Oh, he has! Hojbjerg has been awesome this season. Awesome. Jase, you don’t watch Tottenham.”
Hojbjerg has also played every minute of Tottenham's season so far this season, scoring twice and providing two assists. Antonio Conte's side are still unbeaten this season and are currently just one point behind the Gunners, who are currently top of the Premier League.
Granit Xhaka full of praise for Arsenal youngster following debut last weekend
During Arsenal's 3-0 win at Brentford on Sunday (September 18), manager Mikel Arteta brought on Ethan Nwaneri to make Premier League history. The midfielder is now the youngest player in Premier League history and also became the first 15-year-old in the competition's history to play in a match.
After the win, Xhaka spoke about the player, who is nearly half his age. He told reporters (per SportsMole):
"We have to check the passport first! I am joking. To have a guy who is 15 and is nearly 15 years younger than me. He looks old when I see him, but the club can be proud of a player like him. He has a big future. I am doing my coaching license and I have trained the under-16s. You can see a big difference with him and the other guys."
"He is very, very special. You have to protect him as he is very young but if he keeps going like this with his hard work he has a big, big future. It's not only me that feels old. I spoke with one Brentford guy and I told him this guy was 15 and he looked at me and said: 'F*** me, we are looking old.'"
Xhaka added:
"When you have 15 years difference you think, 'OK, the time is not gone but it is on the way.' But we are enjoying him, he is enjoying us as he has the quality."
