Former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou has spoken exclusively to Ladbrokes on the eve of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
The Ivorian shares fascinating insight from ‘very good friend’ Granit Xhaka’s time with the Gunners and questions whether current options in the squad can match his numbers.
The reason behind Granit Xhaka’s 2019 outburst…
Granit Xhaka’s last season with Arsenal was one to be remembered, especially on a personal level for him. I’m waiting to see whether any of these current midfielders can do as well as he managed, with seven goals and seven assists in the Premier League alone. The readaptation of his role, how he played originally in front of the defenders as a number six, before moving to an eight last season, scoring goals, providing assists, bringing more energy further up the field… the impact he had on so many games last season was crucial to Arsenal’s form.
I’m very close to Granit, he’s a very good friend of mine. I’ve seen him at his very best in an Arsenal shirt and, of course, we’ve seen him in his lowest moments. I’ll be honest, after that game against Crystal Palace, I sent him a text and just told him to keep his head up.
The thing is, fans never know the full story. When a player reacts that way, it’s not because he had a bad game… there were many other things which had been building up which led to that reaction. When you’re the guy who becomes the scapegoat, who is taking the blame for everything bad that’s happening… it’s hard. It’s hard because Granit is a genuine guy who always gave his best for the manager and for the team. When everything happened, and the fans were against him, there was a real feeling that he had to go, he had to leave the team, he couldn’t stay.
So what a beautiful story and example of mentality, when you look at how he left the club this summer. With the right mentality and commitment, you can redeem yourself. Not only did he redeem himself, he became a key, key player in Mikel Arteta’s team. That, for me, was great to see. The credit there has to go as much to Mikel, as it does to Granit. Many managers would come in and listen to the people around them, they’d have sent Granit away and got rid of him because of his actions. But Mikel turned a brand new blank page for him and said “OK, let’s write a new story together”. And what a beautiful story it was in the end.
Of course he’s going to be a big miss. Declan Rice is a great player, but let’s see if he can fit in that role in Granit’s absence, and just how much of an impact he can have. You need players like Rice to deliver those numbers, creating chances and goals for his teammates, and that’s exactly what Granit did regularly last year. Fourteen goal contributions from Xhaka last season… that should absolutely be Rice’s target to match. With Granit being left-footed it meant that they had two left-footed eights either side of the right-footed number six, Thomas Partey. With Granit’s left foot he could whip the ball in from that side, whilst Rice will have to cut in and that may take some getting used to.
He’s come in with a massive price tag, so with that comes a lot of pressure to deliver. Taking Granit out of that team means you’re taking away a key creator, so it’ll be interesting to see how Rice gets on replacing him. Plenty of questions need to be answered, and we don’t know yet just how well he’s going to suit this team. There’s lots of expectation around him, but he’s playing at a higher level now. West Ham is a much smaller club, yes they won the Conference League… but the standard at Arsenal is much higher.
Granit is a very loyal guy, so I’m sure he will be checking Arsenal’s results every week. We only know how missed someone truly is after they’ve gone – and we’ll see just how important he was to this team in his absence. You can never predict these things. He had many mixed years during his time with the club, but things ended very well.
Arsenal are capable of winning the Champions League
Declan Rice has said Arsenal are in the Champions League to win it, and I think that if the player says that, then you have to believe it. Manchester City won the Premier League last season and finished the season as the best team in Europe. They were lucky in the final because, on that night, Inter were the best team. Inter could’ve won that game and there wouldn’t have been any arguments from City fans.
Arsenal have the possibility to win it. It all depends on the day. It’s about how you are able to repeat those high-quality performances on a consistent basis against some of the best teams in Europe. They have the squad for it, they just have to find their form. Arsenal can play a big, big role in both the Premier League and the Champions League. Will I say Arsenal can go and win it? They have the right philosophy and the right mental attitude to be on top in Europe, competing for the trophy. But it’s a long shot away, so it’s very difficult for me to say. For sure, though, if they can perform at their best in Europe this season, there’s no reason why they can’t be right up there in the later stages of the competition.
Mikel Arteta has never managed a Champions League game, so he’s inexperienced in that respect, but his style of football, and his philosophies… they’re of a Champions League style, in my opinion, so I don’t think he’ll have any problems coping with the demands of the competition.
Raya rumour surprised me… it will spark motivation in Ramsdale
The rumours around David Raya coming in really did surprise me, for sure. I don’t think any goalkeeper should think they’re guaranteed the starting spot, and so if Matt Turner is to move on, obviously Mikel Arteta will need to replace him. But £40m is a lot of money to spend on someone when it already looks like you have your first-choice keeper in Aaron Ramsdale.
If that move goes ahead, it shows me two things: it shows me that Mikel is willing to put his players under high pressure in terms of competition, but it also shows me that, quite clearly, he wants as strong a squad as possible; no one is safe. When you’re competing at the high end of the table, and you’re playing Champions League football, you need plenty of top-class options all over the pitch.
The move for David Raya emphasises the club’s ambition; they’re potentially spending £40m on a goalkeeper to come in as a back-up.
Nobody is bigger than the club, and when you’re playing for a team like Arsenal, you know that. Aaron Ramsdale will know that. I think that Sunday, against Manchester City, was a great example of how important he can still be for the team. That penalty shootout, and also some of the saves he made earlier on in the game to keep Arsenal in it… they’ll only give him more confidence that it’s still very much his place.
For me, knowing the character, and having seen him play, I don’t think the transfer rumours will bother Ramsdale at all; I actually think they’ll probably spark a bit of motivation in him… it will further ignite that will to be better and improve every day. You have to have the will to progress all the time at this level, and that’s what I think will happen with Ramsdale.
