Troy Deeney has compared a former Arsenal player to John Terry.
The Gunners have sanctioned departures for a number of talented individuals in recent years, although there aren’t many who you would expect to earn a comparison to Chelsea’s legendary centre-back.
Across the Premier League, players who previously plied their trade at the Emirates are thriving, including the likes of Bernd Leno, Alex Iwobi and Emi Martinez.
That said, Deeney has chosen to highlight a different former Gunners player who has particularly impressed him recently.
Troy Deeney says Granit Xhaka reminds him of John Terry
Granit Xhaka signed for Sunderland in the summer, returning to the Premier League just two years after leaving Arsenal for £21 million.
A surprise move to many, the midfielder has slotted in seamlessly on Wearside, captaining the Black Cats to an exceptional opening few months in the English top flight.
Sunderland currently sit fourth, and Xhaka’s performances have played a pivotal role in this early-season success.
Writing for BBC Sport, former Watford striker Deeney selected the Swiss in his team of the week after the north-east side beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The pundit also issued a slightly unexpected comparison, claiming that Xhaka reminds him of Terry.
“Loads of people will look at all of the new signings, look at the young players that Sunderland have,” Deeney wrote.
“Xhaka is the general on that pitch. He organises, tackles, has people doing his running for him. He reminds me of what John Terry used to be like at Chelsea towards the end of his career.
“He’s just a level above everyone else. The way he wraps the passes in, he gets everything right. For me, he was sensational.”
Granit Xhaka has always been an excellent player
It hasn’t always been rosy for Xhaka in English football.
While the deep-lying playmaker is now perennially praised for his work in the Premier League, there was a time when he was consistently ridiculed.
In his first three or four years at Arsenal, many fans and pundits vilified Xhaka for his lack of discipline and felt that his lack of mobility was too significant a hindrance to his all-around game.
There’s a perception that this changed drastically under Mikel Arteta, because the Spaniard implemented a system that protected some of his weaknesses.
While this is almost certainly true, this doesn’t mean that Xhaka wasn’t always a perfectly cromulent Premier League footballer. He was always an outstanding passer who was also capable of contributing in the final third if given the licence to.
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