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Conor Coady says Arsenal sold an ‘unbelievable’ player for £21.4m who reminded him of Xabi Alonso

Jordan Harris

Tue 16 April 2024 6:55, UK

Conor Coady has suggested that one player Arsenal sold has been ‘unbelievable’, and claimed that he actually reminded the defender of Xabi Alonso whenever they came up against each other.

Mikel Arteta and Edu have got very little wrong in the transfer market over the last few years. They have certainly taken some real risks, including letting marquee players go on free transfers and signing names who have really struggled at their previous clubs.

But there is no question at all that Arsenal have moved forwards. Once again, they have challenged for the Premier League title and remain in the Champions League.

However, their loss at the weekend has opened up a bit of a debate over Arsenal’s best number eight option.

Declan Rice has arguably been excellent in the role. But Arteta surprisingly opted to leave Jorginho out of the side against Aston Villa, with Kai Havertz coming back from the striker position.

Arsenal sold ‘unbelievable’ player now compared with Xabi Alonso

Of course, the pain of the defeat was amplified slightly by the fact that Granit Xhaka was sealing the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen on the same day.

Xhaka was sold by Arsenal for £21.4 million last summer (). It came after his best year at the Emirates. And he thrived in that number eight role in Arteta’s system.

Xhaka had a turbulent time in North London. But the last couple of years have shown how good the Swiss can be.

And speaking on , Conor Coady hinted that he was not surprised to see Xhaka’s success.

“Do you know what, I think his turnaround has been unbelievable,” he said. “He comes across as a leader, he comes across as somebody who cares.

“Even when we think back to that reaction he had at Arsenal at the Emirates when he got brought off that time, and the crowd gave him a little bit of stick, and he gave a little bit back, I think looking back on that now and you think, he’s got a bit about him, hasn’t he. He’s just got a little bit of that grit, that little bit of bite about him where he can go and play.

“When I played against him when he was at Arsenal, he was such a clever, clever footballer. Very much reminded me a little bit of Xabi Alonso in terms of thinking about the game and receiving balls in areas where he was always on the ball, he was always the person available for the ball. He was always in space.”

What people cannot forget about decision to sell Granit Xhaka last summer

It would be easy to look at what happened on Sunday in both England and Germany and think that Arsenal made a mistake in letting Xhaka go.

However, at the time, it seemed like the right decision for both parties. Xhaka had given so much for Arsenal. So he deserved to go out at a time when he was loved by the fans.

And if he wanted to leave, then Arsenal may not have got these performances out of him anyway.

There is still a chance that this campaign could end with the Gunners lifting silverware.

But it is imperative that the leaders, who perhaps emerged in the wake of Xhaka’s departure, now step up.