Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0 on the opening day of the Premier League campaign

Former Sunderland defender Micky Gray has lauded Granit Xhaka for his influential display in the Black Cats’ 3-0 win over West Ham at the weekend.

The Swiss midfielder was handed the captain’s armband for his first competitive outing in red and white, and produced a typically commanding performance at the base of midfield as his new club sealed a dream start to their long-awaited return to the Premier League.

And reflecting on Xhaka’s showing during an interview on talkSPORT, Gray was quick to hail the 32-year-old for the measure of quality and control that he provided for Regis Le Bris’ newly promoted side.

What did Micky Gray say about Granit Xhaka’s Sunderland debut?

Looking back on Xhaka’s display, Gray - who was in attendance at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon - said: “He was absolutely incredible. I mean, the crazy thing about it, Sunderland is a very young team. I know they brought in a little bit of experience and albeit Granit Xhaka now, he wears the captain's armband. So that must have been a big decision for the manager as well.

“But when there were times when they found it a little bit difficult yesterday [Saturday] against West Ham, and I'm talking about probably the final 15 minutes of the first half, you could see him trying to speak to everybody and calm everybody down. And when the ball came to his feet, he wasn't rushing his passes. He was slowing everything down. So that experience is absolutely huge.

“And you're right, new signings walking through the door at a club, just give everybody a boost. I know there's a lot came through the door at Sunderland. There were seven started yesterday. But I looked at that West Ham starting 11 and I'm looking around saying, ‘Right, who's going to influence this team?’ And the only player I could really look at was Jarrod Bowen. His work ethic was there for everybody to see. And everybody else was kind of hoping everybody was going to bounce off Jarrod Bowen, but it just never got going for them.”

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What else did Micky Gray say about Sunderland’s win over West Ham?

Elsewhere, Gray also highlighted the importance of both the atmosphere generated by the home crowd at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon and Regis Le Bris’ tactical influence. He said: “It was absolutely brilliant. I mean, we saw a game there in the semi-final play-off against Coventry at the end of last season, which was, I've never heard it like that before.

“And I think the wait for everybody to get back into the Premier League was there yesterday for everybody to see, and the excitement, and what a performance. Certainly in the second half, they were absolutely outstanding. But I mean, the players that have walked through the door, 11 new signings, you don't know how they're going to settle, but they were absolutely brilliant.

“The manager got it absolutely spot on. He got his homework done in the first half. But second half, from the goal, the atmosphere was just absolutely electric. What a start to the season.”

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