Archive November 4, 2025

Granit Xhaka, the captain of Sunderland, was given the title of the season before making his most significant contribution so far.

The Black Cats could not have imagined how well it would turn out when they signed the now 33-year-old from Bayer Leverkusen for £13 million in the summer.

Sunderland drew 1-1 at home against Everton, which restored them to the top four of the Premier League, thanks to the midfielder’s effort from outside the box.

A quarter of the way through the season, the promoted side will be able to earn a Champions League spot.

Before the game, ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports, “He must be the signing of the season.”

“Is there anyone in the Premier League who has a significant impact anywhere?” Not surprisingly.”

In almost every way, Xhaka leads his Sunderland team-mates.

However, how consistently high-ranked he is in every category in terms of statistics is very impressive.

Only three players combined have three assists, with only three (those with four) more. Only two players have created more chances from set-plays than his nine, and he is joint-11th in the department.

Only Marcos Senesi (56) has completed more long passes than Xhaka’s (52) among outfielders.

Senesi’s 138 attempts were offset by 87 long passes by the Swiss.

He leads all other players in passes (552) and balls into the box (566), and his team won (49).

And he now has a goal, his first in the Premier League since 2022-23 when he scored twice against Wolves in his final game against Arsenal.

He’s very significant because this league has a lot of young players and new faces, manager Regis Le Bris said.

They are unaware of the condition, and one player like Granit, who has had a lot of experience, is very significant to us. He has this ability to excel.

“I’m happy to have this player,” she said. He has a passion for football, is competitive, has a strong sense of community, and sets the standard.

Jonny Evans, the former Sunderland defender, stated on Sky Sports, “He is the only player with real experience on the team.”

Xhaka, who has played for Arsenal from 2016 until 2023, is currently in his second year here in England.

In their unbeaten domestic campaign from 2023 to 2024, he then won the title under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.

The Leverkusen boss, Erik ten Hag, resisted selling Xhaka this summer.

Ten Hag was fired a few weeks into the season after the midfielder left for Sunderland.

You never know where you land, said Xhaka, “but I didn’t expect to come back after Germany.”

“It made me happy to be back.” I understood that the project would provide experience for the guys every day.

“I’m happy to score a goal,” I thought.

At Arsenal, Xhaka was a bit of a pantomine villain and occasionally much mocked.

He had a six-week spell as the Gunners’ captain in 2019, clashed with his own fans, and was stripped of his armband. He was also sent off five times for the Gunners.

However, things improved under Mikel Arteta, who eventually left for Germany in 2023.

After going through that at Arsenal, Carragher showed great character and bounced back from that. He will be remembered for a very long time if he can join a Sunderland team that finishes in the top 10 or even just stays up.

Marco Gabbiadini, a former Sunderland striker, described him as “a top professional.”

You sometimes thought he was a bit of a villain when he was a player for Arsenal. We have seen him grow and develop over the years.

“We saw a slightly restrained version of Xhaka,” according to the report from Arsenal, but it’s actually better than the fully committed, blowing steam out of his ears type of player.

He is “a little bit more measured, calmer, and a better professional.” Everyone believes in him, and having him in your squad is a talisman, especially when you have a young squad.

Each team has played ten games so far in the Premier League season, which is over a quarter of the way through.

What then can we infer about it?

The answer seems to be quite a lot, according to history.

Only two teams finished more than five places off the top of their current standings last year, for instance.

And already there would be at least one title challenger and relegation battler, who would need to do something unheard of.

On 25 points, Arsenal leads the Premier League, which is roughly the average (24.7%) for the eventual champions after 10 games.

The top team in this league season has won the title in 14 of its 33 matches so far.

However, after ten games, has a team scored the title, a team has only seven times, the tally of second-placed Manchester City, or 18 points.

Nobody has ever attempted it with fewer points, which would “exclude” any other hopefuls.

Arsenal leads City by six points, which is the most points a team has ever scored from behind at this point in a title race.

The two who did that were Manchester City in 2013 and Manchester United in 2002-2003.

This might not be a good thing for the Gunners, though, if you believe in omens.

City scored 19 points and Arsenal scored 25 in the same season. exact same totals as this season.

Every time there is a Premier League relegation, Wolves’ two-game winning streak after ten games has meant that.

At this point, four teams, including Wolves last year, have done it from a position of three points.

Under Gary O’Neil, Vitor Pereira assumed control and provided safety. O’Neil and Pereira have just been fired, and Molineux’ advanced discussions have ended.

The three promoted teams have gone straight back up without much of a fight in each of the previous two seasons.

However, they are far better this year, and they have yet to win any of their ten games.

Fourth place is Sunderland in the table. No promoted team has ever recovered from a 10-game losing streak after accruing 18 points.

Both Leeds (11 points) and Burnley (10) are already in double figures and two places above the relegation zone.

Cardiff in 2013-14 was the last promoted team to earn 11 or more points after 10 games and relegate itself.

Only two teams finished last season more than five positions short of their 10-game mark.

Tottenham dropped from seventh to 17th place as a result of Ange Postecoglou’s appearance of priority in the Europa League.

Wolves moved up four spots, while Nottingham Forest dropped the same amount, while Newcastle moved six places to fifth, Crystal Palace moved up five, and Wolves moved up four.