04 questions for… Granit Xhaka.
Granit, what came to mind when it was clear we'd play Arsenal in a friendly?
Xhaka: Of course, it is special to go back to where I played for seven years. I had a brilliant time at Arsenal and I'm still in daily contact with lot of players and the staff. From the team that's Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus above all. Over recent few weeks I've not really been able to talk to them about the game but I have in the past few days. I'm really looking forward to seeing them all again."
Several hundred fans will follow you to London. What can they and you as a team expect at the Emirates Stadium?
Xhaka: It's a special stadium with a special feeling and typical English atmosphere. It gets extremely loud when the home team makes good moves. The Arsenal fans are definitely looking forward to a match at the highest level as are our fans. From a football perspective we’ll face a very strong opponent and that's a huge challenge for us – but also for Arsenal of course.
Is it special motivation for you to return to the Emirates having won two trophies?
Xhaka: The English see Leverkusen with different eyes after last season and the perception is completely different. Specifically for the friendly, the two trophies last season obviously don't bring as anything. In this part of the preseason it's primarily about all players staying fit, us going to the limit in every friendly and getting into the rhythm of matches at the highest level.
Two top coaches of a younger generation face each other in Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso. You've played for both of them. What makes them stand out?
Xhaka: The connection between them is remarkable for professional football: They grew up together in the same city (San Sebastian, ed.). They have their own ways and their own characters but fundamentally follow the same approach to the game. They want to play football and exert pressure on the opposition both on and off the ball. I'm sure both of them will have a great future as coaches.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have secured a new premium partner in the form of DRIVIO. DRIVIO, already part of the club’s partner portfolio as a reliable car subscription partner for Bayer 04, will continue to support the club in this capacity and, with immediate effect, also join the premium group of companies that cooperate closely with the Werkself. The premium and car subscription partnership between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and DRIVIO will initially run until 30 June 2027.
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Following last weekend’s big game against Wolfsburg, Bayer 04 Women face another exciting challenge as they visit Hoffenheim to kick off Matchday 3 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Friday (kick-off: 18:30 CEST).
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Under the slogan ‘Holidays without War’, 60 children from war-torn Ukraine took part in the summer camp organised by the German-Ukrainian association Blau-Gelbes Kreuz in Leverkusen and the surrounding area in August. The children aged between 10 and 14 – many of whom have lost their parents in the war – come from the Ukrainian twin towns of Leverkusen, Cologne and Monheim am Rhein: Nikopol, Dnipro and Volodymyr. Bayer 04, Bayer AG and TSV Bayer 04 supported the camp to mark its 10th anniversary, enabling even more children and young people than in previous years to spend a few carefree days’ holiday away from the war in the Rhineland.
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Midfielder Ruby Grant is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and joining Portuguese runners-up Sporting CP a year before her contract expires. The 24-year-old has been at the Werkself since January 2025.
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New to Leverkusen and straight up onto the roof at the BayArena: Guéla Doué has arrived. In an interview with Werkself TV, the new right-back talks about his previous links with Bayer 04 and how much he’s looking forward to his first home match. Have a look!
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