Xhaka says Premier League is priority ahead of first European clash in 53 years | OneFootball

Granit Xhaka revealed that the Premier League is the priority ahead of Sunderland’s first European clash in 53 years.

Sunderland are set to face AZ Alkmaar in their first Europa League match of the season after finishing 7th in the Premier League last year.

Xhaka spoke about the importance of the fixture and how excited he is ahead of the match.

“I don’t want to call it a bonus, but this is a bonus for us,” he said. “Because for sure the Premier League is our priority, but the bonus in the Europa League is something we are trying to get, and it’s just a big challenge for us. I’ve been twice in the final, lost twice in the Europa League final, so for me it’s a big dream to get another final and get into it with this football club.

“We knew that last season we wrote something in our history, to be back after 53 years, and you can start to feel the excitement from the people as well.

“I think the stadium will be on fire tomorrow, because the fans deserve it, the football club deserves it, but as players, after the hard work last season, we deserve to be where we are. In the end, the excitement is one side, and the other part is to enjoy the game as well, because there’s nothing better than to play European football, to compete against the best ones in Europe, and to try to get as much as possible.”

Xhaka has reached the Europa League final twice in his career, losing both times. The first time, his Arsenal side lost 4-1 to Chelsea in 2019, and in the second Bayer Leverkusen were beaten by Atalanta in 2024.

Xhaka explained how both sides were able to go so far in the competition.

“First of all, you need the energy in the dressing room, and this is what we have,” he said.

“The first step I did last season in the dressing room had a very good feeling.

“So the energy, the mindset for the young players as well, and for the group is amazing. You need this to be at a level to compete, first of all, and after you can win, you can lose games, whatever, but if you don’t have this desire, this mentality, the hunger to compete every single day, not just in training, forget about this level.

“So this team has it, this team will show it game by game, and you need luck, whatever, but I’m very positive and optimistic that we can go very far in this competition.”