Xhaka is proud of Leverkusen's squad depth and the brightest young star: "Wirtz is incredible"

Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka is enjoying his return to German football as his Bayer Leverkusen side keeps posting one stellar performance after another. And the strength of the team is a big squad full of quality players who can change the course of games even if the head coach decides to rotate.

In the 2-1 victory at Wolfsburg, Leverkusen's most talented player, Florian Wirtz, excelled in the unfamiliar role of a substitute. However, Xhaka highlights the quality of Bayer Leverkusen's substitutes, which could become a crucial factor in the title race.

After an hour of play in Wolfsburg, with the score at 1-1, Xabi Alonso brought Wirtz on, and from that point on, Bayer dominated the previously closely contested match. Even though the 20-year-old was not directly involved in the winning goal scored by Alejandro Grimaldo, that half-hour period showcased the class and significance of the German international to the league leaders.

Dominance, control of the game, and goal-scoring threat all increased with his introduction. It's not just the final actions of the top star that are responsible for this. There weren't many of those from the winger in Wolfsburg. Instead, it's his ability to accelerate the game and dictate the play. Wirtz acts as a lubricant for the team, preventing any hitches.

As a result, Xhaka stated after the game that Wirtz's influence is priceless - even as a substitute.

"Every player has their qualities, and you can see that we have a bench that can bring us back to life, that can ignite the fire again, like Flo Wirtz did against Wolfsburg. He immediately got into the game. His qualities are incredible."

Even though Xabi Alonso made four substitutions in Wolfsburg, he still had proven internationals like Piero Hincapie (a World Cup player with Ecuador), Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek (both from the Czech Republic), as well as German Robert Andrich, left as unused substitutes on the day.

The Swiss international is pleased with the squad depth in the forward positions, offering the coach considerable flexibility in each game.

"Every substitution so far has benefited us, whether it was in Wolfsburg or in the other games. We have a deep squad and enough quality that everyone can get a break."

This factor could prove decisive in the end. Even Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel, who has only six Bundesliga-experienced defenders at his disposal, does not have such a depth of quality in all areas of his team. For Alonso, however, the dense fixtures list means rotations are necessary to keep the team fresh.

"We need this for an intensive period with three midweek fixtures in a row. Playing with the same starting lineup every time is almost impossible."