Mark Langdon: Granit Xhaka makes the Swiss tick

Epic sporting comebacks are easy to remember - Ian Botham's Headingley heroics in the 1981 Ashes Test against Australia, Liverpool's Lazarus-style effort to come from three down to win the Miracle of Istanbul Champions League final, and Dennis Taylor's black-ball triumph over Steve Davis from 8-0 down in the 1985 snooker World Championship as 18 million people stayed up past midnight to watch the outsider claim the Crucible crown.

Granit Xhaka's name doesn't immediately jump off that list, but it was only five years ago he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy following clashes with the Gunners faithful after his substitution against Crystal Palace when he responded to the Emirates jeers by cupping his ear and encouraging them to boo louder.

The revival was such that Xhaka was given a pleasant send-off when he eventually departed Arsenal last summer, but there were few tears as he left for Bayer Leverkusen, particularly as Declan Rice was the eye-catching replacement in the north London engine room.

It's widely perceived that Rice improved Arsenal and even more so once Mikel Arteta used him in a slightly more advanced role off the left of a midfield three, a position occupied successfully by Xhaka as he won back the trust of those who had previously wanted him long gone. 

Whether it is true that Arsenal significantly upgraded is open to debate following Xhaka's sensational season in the Bundesliga, and his midfield ding-dong with Rice could well be one of the key battlegrounds in Saturday's Euro 2024 quarter-final between England and Switzerland in Dusseldorf.

Rice has not been the only England player to struggle to find his best form in Germany this summer, however, now would be the right time to get back into top gear because Xhaka is driving Switzerland forward with the confidence you would expect of a player who led Leverkusen to an invincible domestic double this season.

Xhaka was integral to Leverkusen's triumphant campaign, a remarkable effort in a season when their only defeat came in the Europa League final, as boss Xabi Alonso built the team around his trusted midfield lieutenant.

No player had more touches than Xhaka in the Bundesliga - his final figure of 3,558 was more than 500 more than any other player - and all with a pass completion rate of 91.7 per cent. And this was not Xhaka doing tippy-tappy two-yard passes either. 

The 31-year-old topped the progressive passes figure in the Bundesliga with 392 (more than 100 superior to any other player) and his 370 passes into the final third according to fbref.com was way out in front with the next best on 236, while no other player hit 200. 

He was fourth in  progressive carrying distance - the three players above him were all centre-backs - and his 12 through balls was the same figure as Jamal Musiala managed. Before the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, only Kevin De Bruyne had supplied more through balls at the Euros, and Xhaka ranked alongside a widely renowned superb playmaker in Bruno Fernandes.

Opta's attacking sequence involvement, which is defined by number of involvements in open-play shot-ending sequences, might sound like a right mouthful, but those around the top of the table in Europe's top five leagues is not far short of a who's who of midfielders. Rodri is way out in front on his own after another stellar season for Manchester City, but Xhaka is keeping company with Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Fernandes,  Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Phil Foden. 

It's been some recovery from Xhaka, who is clearly Granit by name and granite by nature. 

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