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Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has said that he is set to rejoin his club in Dubai, UAE for a mid-season training camp following Switzerland's exit from the last-16 stage at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Switzerland were shown the door at the famed tournament after a 6-1 loss against Portugal in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday (6 December).
Arsenal, on the other hand, are currently atop the Premier League standings with 37 points from 14 matches, with their only league defeat coming against Manchester United in September. So far, the Gunners have scored 33 goals and conceded 11 goals in the ongoing 2022-23 season.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Xhaka opened up about his national team's exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He elaborated:
"Of course, emotionally it is not easy. But this is part of our business, part of football. You have to recover well. The Premier League is waiting and, of course, I wanted to be here longer than this. But we lost the game and I am happy to go back."
Sharing his thoughts on Arsenal, Xhaka continued:
"I have something to achieve there, and I know the team is in Dubai at the moment doing the pre-season. I'm flying back to Dubai, going back to the team, and going back to the training sessions and trying to forget the ongoing tournament now."
Xhaka has been in fine form at club level this campaign, registering four goals and three assists in 20 overall appearances for the Gunners.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are set to face Lyon and AC Milan at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on Thursday (8 December) and Tuesday (13 December) respectively. The club are scheduled to wrap up their mid-season friendlies with a home clash against Juventus next Saturday.
Granit Xhaka comments on Brazil and Arsenal star's injury at 2022 FIFA World Cup
Speaking to Evening Standard, Xhaka stated that he has been in touch with Gabriel Jesus following the Brazil striker suffering a right knee injury, sustained during a 2022 FIFA World Cup group-stage match. He said:
"I spoke with him straight after the Cameroon game. We have the contact between each other, with all the players we have here in the World Cup. It's a shame because you saw in the first round of the Premier League how important he is for us. I don't know how big the injury is, maybe two or three months."
Highlighting Eddie Nketiah as a perfect replacement, Xhaka added:
"We have the option with Eddie, of course. He showed great games as well in the past and we need to support Gabi first. We need to support Eddie as well, because he will be a big, big part of the next two or three months. But I am looking forward because we have the quality to help Eddie."
Before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Jesus scored five goals and laid out seven assists in 20 overall games for Arsenal this season. Nketiah, on the other hand, netted three times in 19 matches.
