Granit Xhaka has hailed the change in mentality at Arsenal but has warned they still have to learn to kill off the opposition.The Gunners have won their opening five games of the Premier League season to sit top of the table.A hard-fought 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night followed a victory by the same scoreline over Fulham four days earlier.Gabriel Martinelli hit the winner against Villa after Douglas Luiz's goal from a direct corner had cancelled out Gabriel Jesus’ opener.It was another Brazil international, Gabriel Magalhaes, who scrambled home the winner at home to Fulham as he atoned for costing Arsenal the opener before Martin Odegaard equalised.Xhaka, who moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2016, believes altering the way Arsenal respond to a setback has been crucial."I think it was the biggest goal for us, to change this mentality," he said."I’ve been here seven years and I saw a lot of things, good and bad things, but we were always struggling a little bit in this way."You could play good football, everything looks good, but sometimes the 50-50 ball, the 50-50 games, you have to take it for you."Then you turn everything around and you start to believe in each other a little more.
I think the game-changer at the moment is the mentality."Asked if that change has gathered pace with the arrival of serial Premier League title winners Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City, Xhaka added: "Absolutely."But this demand first comes from the coach.
He has been here three years and he demands every training, every day to win. It doesn’t matter what we do in the training, if it’s ball possession, if it’s games, small games against each other, he is putting us on a list – who is the