{"id":347,"date":"2026-05-09T16:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/?p=347"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:16:21","slug":"shearers-high-praise-xhaka-the-benchmark-after-united-masterclass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/shearers-high-praise-xhaka-the-benchmark-after-united-masterclass\/","title":{"rendered":"Shearer\u2019s High Praise: Xhaka the \u201cBenchmark\u201d After United Masterclass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"587\" data-id=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-1024x587.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-1024x587.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-768x441.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-380x218.jpg 380w, https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429-800x459.jpg 800w, https:\/\/agajahub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1000329429.jpg 1079w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200bPremier League legend Alan Shearer has hailed Granit Xhaka as the premier midfielder in the division following Sunderland\u2019s gritty 0-0 draw against Manchester United at the Stadium of Light. In a match where many expected the visitors to dominate, the Sunderland captain orchestrated a tactical clinic that left the Hall of Fame striker in awe.<br>\u200bWriting for his latest analysis, Shearer did not hold back, claiming that the Swiss international has redefined his role since arriving on Wearside.<br>\u200b&#8221;He is the absolute benchmark for that position in the league right now,&#8221; Shearer noted. &#8220;What Xhaka provides in terms of discipline, passing range, and pure leadership is second to none. He completely nullified United&#8217;s threat.&#8221;<br>\u200bStatistics from the match back up the pundit&#8217;s glowing review. Xhaka completed 67 accurate passes and recorded a team-high in ball recoveries, acting as the impenetrable shield for the Black Cats&#8217; defense. Despite the lack of goals, the game was defined by Xhaka\u2019s ability to dictate the tempo and disrupt United\u2019s rhythm.<br>\u200bSince his surprising move from the Bundesliga, Xhaka has been the heartbeat of this Sunderland side. Shearer\u2019s comments cement what many fans have seen all season: the veteran is currently playing the best football of his career, proving to be the most vital signing in the club\u2019s recent history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u200bPremier League legend Alan Shearer has hailed Granit Xhaka as the premier midfielder in the division following Sunderland\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14],"class_list":{"0":"post-347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-sunderland"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agajahub.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}