Xhaka wants Arsenal to welcome fans to London Colney training sessions

Granit Xhaka wants Arsenal to welcome fans to their London Colney training sessions to see how hard they work… as he insists Arteta’s squad ‘care more than people think’ and that he cannot SLEEP after a defeat

• The idea to invite fans to training has been discussed internally at Arsenal 
• However, the coronavirus pandemic is one development that has stalled plans 
• It is not uncommon for clubs to hold one-off open sessions at their stadiums 
• Granit Xhaka feels regular access to training grounds would be valuable for fans

Granit Xhaka revealed he has asked Arsenal if they can invite fans to the training ground so they can see how hard Mikel Arteta’s players train.

The idea is one that has been discussed internally at Arsenal though the Coronavirus pandemic is one development that stalled any plans to open London Colney’s doors to the public.

Access restrictions related to the planning permission Arsenal were granted for their training HQ and also difficulty finding suitable time, with the need to keep tactical information under wraps, are among the other obstacles.

Granit Xhaka revealed he has asked Arsenal if they can invite fans to the training ground

The midfielder wants the club to do this to show fans how hard Mikel Arteta’s squad work

It is not uncommon for clubs to hold one-off open training sessions at their stadiums but Xhaka feels regular access to their training grounds would be a valuable experience for supporters who get only a small glimpse at footballers’ lives.

Former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Xhaka said: ‘The people who do not see us in the training, for example, do not see how hard we are working in training. They see us only in the 90 minutes. Everyone has a good and bad day.

‘That is why I spoke with the club as well about ”why can’t we bring the fans maybe once a week so they can see us how we train?”

Xhaka feels regular access to their training grounds would be a valuable experience for fans

‘It is not like we are coming here to waste our time and after we don’t care about the 90 minutes. We care more than the people think. 

‘Me and Aaron [Ramsdale] for example we can’t sleep after the game when we lose. It does not matter if we are home or away.

‘But this no one can see that. This makes me very disappointed and very sad that after that the people start to speak, ”you didn’t give everything for the club, you do that, you did this…” this is bulls*** you know.

‘But it is so difficult in England to bring the people to the training ground. In Germany it is different, you have two, three, four thousand people and they come every day.’

Xhaka revealed he (right) and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (centre) cannot sleep after defeats

Share this article

Source: Read Full Article