Granit Xhaka Compares Régis Le Bris to Arsène Wenger

Granit Xhaka has worked for some of the biggest thinkers in modern football. Arsène Wenger. Unai Emery. Mikel Arteta. Xabi Alonso. Four managers, three major European leagues, one long education in elite coaching.

So when the Swiss midfielder looks at Régis Le Bris and reaches for a comparison, he goes straight to the top.

“I call him like the small Arsene Wenger,” Xhaka told TNT Sports ahead of Sunderland’s meeting with Arsenal. The line lands with weight, not just nostalgia. “As a human being, he's top. He's very calm, he's not a guy who screams, he has all the solutions and tactically, he's amazing. And even for him, to get a new team, now again with new players, I believe is not easy.

“But he showed himself that he is a great manager, he showed himself that he can improve this team, the players. And myself, I'm very thankful that I can have a coach like him.”

Sunderland’s statement of intent

Le Bris brought Xhaka to the Stadium of Light last summer, prising him from Bayer Leverkusen in a move that felt like a declaration. Sunderland were not just back in the Premier League to survive. They were back to compete.

The impact was immediate. In their first season back in the top flight, Xhaka captained Sunderland to a stunning seventh-place finish, securing Europa League football and ripping up almost every pre-season prediction. The club’s rise has mirrored the influence of their new captain and the meticulous Frenchman on the touchline.

Asked what separates Le Bris from the other managers he has played under, Xhaka doesn’t talk about charisma or slogans. He talks about detail.

“He's very detailed. So if he analyses something – not just the opponent, but even us and more the individual meetings – he's very detailed,” Xhaka explained. “He goes into details that I haven't seen often in a coach. So every player here has improved over the last 16 months and I think there is still space to improve for everyone.”

That obsession with the small things runs through Sunderland’s week. Training sessions, video rooms, one-to-one chats. Le Bris dissects everything. The players, by their captain’s account, feel it in their development.

The standard-bearer

Inside the dressing room, Xhaka is the extension of that method. The most experienced player at the club, he doesn’t just wear the armband; he sets the temperature.

Xhaka understands his role clearly. “If I'm not the guy who's taking the first step, who is following me?” he said. “I'm a guy who demands a lot from himself. This is the first thing I demand from myself.

“I never show the finger first to others before I show it to myself. Sometimes people forget about the difference between demanding and complaining because, for me, these are two pairs of shoes. I want to win. And I want to win if I'm at home, I want to win when I'm on the pitch in training, and I want to win in the weekend games as well. This is me.”

His influence goes far beyond his passing range or positional sense. On the pitch, he acts as the bridge between Le Bris’ tactical instructions and a young, hungry squad still learning how to navigate the Premier League. Off it, he carries the standards of a player shaped by Arsenal and refined in Germany.

A reunion with Arsenal – and a reality check

Now comes the emotional test. Arsenal at the Stadium of Light. Xhaka against his former club. Le Bris against Arteta, the man who once built a midfield around the Swiss international in North London.

For Xhaka, it is more than a nostalgic reunion. It is a measuring stick. How far have Sunderland come under the “small Wenger”? How close are they to troubling the elite on a regular basis?

They will need every ounce of Le Bris’ famed preparation. Arteta’s side arrive with a perfect start to the season, locked on a title-chasing trajectory and playing with the control and intensity that Xhaka knows all too well.

Sunderland’s midfield will be critical. Xhaka, flanked by Diarra and Sadiki, must disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm, choke off their passing lanes, and turn the game into the kind of tactical battle Le Bris relishes. If Sunderland are to live with Arsenal’s tempo, that trio cannot afford a quiet afternoon.

The stakes are clear. The narrative writes itself: Xhaka against his past, Le Bris measured against Wenger’s legacy through the prism of a former Arsenal captain, Sunderland testing their new identity against a club chasing the title.

One thing, though, is non-negotiable in Xhaka’s mind. As he looked ahead to the clash, his message to Sunderland’s fans was stripped back and simple.

“We will never give up.”