I'd no longer be the same player without my rigorousness, and certainly not the player Arsenal wanted.
— Granit Xhaka
Here at Basel is where I made my first professional steps. I came up and grew up through the FC Basel school.
The expectations are high, so we know: If we do not meet them, there is criticism. We have high expectations ourselves. We are not happy with fourth, third, or second, either.
The family is our greatest luxury.
Here in the Premier League, you have to give 100 per cent for the whole 90 minutes. It's not like after 70 minutes you can say, 'We're 2-0 up, so let's have some fun now' - that doesn't happen in the Premier League.
I wouldn't change myself for anybody. I am who I am; people accept me, or they don't. I have my strengths and my weaknesses, which I can try to improve upon, of course. I'm still not the finished product.
I guess I'd say I'm quite an aggressive player. Fair but aggressive, someone who likes the tough stuff.
I am still young; I am still fresh, and I want more.
Lots of people talk about the character of our team, that it's not right and that we need to do more. But we always show that we can come back.
I have a good relationship with the Albanian fans. But when you are called a traitor - that is such a harsh word. Most of the Albanian fans respect me. But 'traitor' is unacceptable considering the background of my family.
I will give everything to help Arsenal win trophies and make the fans happy.
I think, when a manager has been at a club for more than 20 years, he can only have a positive impact.
I'm a person who thinks realistically but has dreams and fantasies as well.
We always have hope. Hope dies last.
I am a very simple man. I love normality, and I love normal people. I love to eat normal food. It's how I grew up.
My brother was always going to go in the direction of football. With me, it was more between school and football. Eventually, it worked out for both of us. We're pleased to have gone down that path. I'm proud that my parents always supported us, in good and in bad times. You need that.
Every Monday, we're asked to undertake jump tests to check the conditions of our muscles. There's nothing you can hide. Once a week, they do urine tests, and your body fat percentage is tested regularly. The doctors cover all bases.
In football, you just have to develop yourself.
I've had four beautiful years at Monchengladbach and owe the club a lot.
Arsenal is Arsenal. It's not a small club; it's a very big club, and it's like a family. It's very good for me because I love my family, and to have another family here is very good.
We are young; we are naive with money. Money can go fast. If anyone thinks he is something better just because he has more money in the account, then he can very quickly fall on your face.
When you want too much, you don't usually achieve much.
I play with a lot of emotion because I'm a passionate guy, and I play with that passion. I love playing that way. Sometimes you're late onto the ball, sometimes you're not. Sometimes you make contact with the guy when you tackle him, sometimes not. It's a sport where individual duels are vital, so I don't see it as a problem.
When I think about a mid-table club like Everton spending £150 million during the summer, I am lost for words.
I don't think Gladbach are on the same level as Arsenal.
It could be very costly if you don't have a clear mind during a tournament.
I can't stand people who are backward. I am honest, straightforward. I don't like to pretend. And I will not change either.
I never used to be taken seriously as a Swiss person.
I'm a hard-working young man who believes in myself.
I think in football everything is possible.
Family is the most important thing to me. Especially my brother Taulant - we talk about everything together.
Personally, I can handle criticism, especially when it is deserved, and it's because my dad never, ever said 'Well done' to me. He did it on purpose so that I kept my feet on the ground.
My dad played football, too, in the former Yugoslavia.
Arsenal prepare the players in the best way. They pay attention to every detail. We are able to recover optimally during our flights. The food and the service, everything's geared perfectly to each other.
Actually, it's normal when you come to a new club and country: you need to get used to the language, the philosophy of the team, the squad, the coach.
My goal is to become a key player in one of the ten best clubs in the world and become a leader there.
Each month from our income - we have a separate account, obviously - we give 80 percent of it to our parents back home.
You have to be completely there in every game, and as soon as you drop your level even one per cent, you concede goals.
I heard my new team-mates saying, 'We have got to hope that we don't go down.' I thought to myself, 'What kind of a mentality is that?'
I've picked up quite a few yellow cards in the last few years - a few reds, too. That was the case as a youth player as it is now. But I don't see it as a problem. That's how I play. If you take that away, then I wouldn't be where I am now. So I don't think the yellow cards or the red cards are too big of an issue.
I am a regular for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and I want to progress still further.
I am in an outstanding city, an outstanding club. The only thing that Arsenal has been missing is a league title.
Individual quality doesn't decide games for us but the whole team.
It's true that my father was imprisoned for three and a half years, and it was because he stood up for what he believed in. It's not a taboo subject in our household. We talk about it. After all, I want to know what happened.
In football, you get criticised if you are sent off. It's my style of play, and nobody can make me change that. Even if I get another red card, then that happens. You become cleverer, maybe look more, and since my red card, I think things have improved.
You always need a certain amount of time to fully adjust; it was no different when I moved to the Bundesliga.
It's not like I played my first football match in England. For me, football is pretty much the same everywhere; the ball is round, but maybe tactically, things are different than at other clubs I've played for.
In Camden, it's just the atmosphere that gets me. It's simple. It's nice. It's real. And it's the people, too. I like to interact with them because they are normal and I am normal. People probably don't expect an Arsenal player to come to Camden Lock and, basically, be a normal guy.
One of the most revealing details about my parents is that they only got together three months before my dad's arrest.
In Germany, you can play aggressively, but the referee will always blow his whistle, but in England, that's not the case. That's better for me.
