Ex-Arsenal man admits he has told teammates to learn from his Gunners failure amid Bundesliga charge

Former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka has been speaking about his old club's collapse last season as he bids to go one better with his new club this season. Xhaka is part of Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen side that currently sits top of Bundesliga, 10 points ahead of Bayern Munich in second.

But the veteran midfielder has been in a strong position at the top of the Premier League before, and only last season. Arsenal led the Premier League last season but they did not finish the job, falling short to Manchester City. The Gunners had a similar collapse a year previous when they lost the top four battle to Tottenham on the final day of the season.

Leverkusen are in an even strong position, given only 10 games remain, but Xhaka is determined to learn from last season's disappointment to get his hands on his first league title since winning gold with Basel back in 2012.

“We should be proud of our position but nothing is won yet — I am speaking from my own experience of last season,” Xhaka told ESPN on Sunday. “We had a similar points advantage over the team in second and we did not win the league, so I know this experience and I have shared it with the dressing room. 10 points is a lot when you have 10 games left, but there are still 30 points left to take so it is not over.”

Asked if the other Leverkusen players are keen to lean on his experience, Xhaka added: "Yes, and they know — they are asking me day by day because I have been in this situation before,” Xhaka said. “I was asked how it was, what happened to us, but you cannot explain with words – you have to feel it. That is why you must stay humble and work each day, like we have done all season and then see where we are after 34 games.”