Granit Xhaka is undoubtedly like marmite, even more so than Mesut Ozil and it sometimes feels that even if he scored a hat trick for Arsenal in six consecutive games and was MOTM in all of them, someone, somewhere wouldn’t be satisfied.
I’m a bit like that with Xhaka, his good work of late doesn’t excuse the misplaced tackles, the poor performances, shoddy passes, avoidable red cards, and that ‘shirt’ thing at Palace where he rightly lost the captaincy in November 2019.
During the heat of battle against Crystal Palace, with the score at 2-2 and the clock running down, Xhaka plodded off the pitch to jeers from the home supporters, he swore at the raging crowd, removed his shirt, and just stopped short of throwing it to one side. Had he done that, I doubt that I would be writing this blog.
He sold himself short again for the Leicester goal at the weekend, which was partly his fault. His failure to offer a challenge whilst in pursuit of Youri Tielemans didn’t go unnoticed, but let’s go for the positives instead of the well-documented negatives.
Granit Xhaka has certainly upped his game in the last 8 or more contests and his general contribution in attack and defence is better than at any stage of his Arsenal career. Perhaps, he finally understands the role under Arteta, instead of having to interpret the one given to him by Wenger and Emery which was neither attacking/creative or defensive/Holding midfielder.
He seems slightly more assured and aware of his game, often mopping up at the back or pushing the play forward as well as giving support to his attackers. I’m not convinced he’s the long-term answer to our midfield issues but he’s doing his job at a time when Arsenal aren’t exactly able to upgrade in this financial climate without having to sell the family silver.
Xhaka is never going to be the player we reminisce about ten years from now, he lacks the magic of Cazorla, the brilliance of Henry, the audacity of Bergkamp, and the adoration of Adams, but he’s not a complete disaster, is he?
He’s had regrettable moments in a few forgettable teams and those lapses in concentration have cost Arsenal points, all of which have added to the negative attitudes but he is committed to the Arteta cause, more so than he was invested in the fading reign of Wenger or the temporary tenancy of Emery.
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I’m not saying he should stay forever but for now, he appears to be the constant man in midfield who will partner a fully fit Thomas Partey. Elneny can be too magnolia for me, with lots of effort but going nowhere and Ceballos has proved nothing with just a handful of stand-out performances in two seasons, the last of which was awful against Benfica.
So, for the time being, at least, Granit Xhaka is the man to see the transition through until Arsenal have more financial clout in the transfer market or until a successor is found in the ranks of the academy. I currently find myself staring at my blog in disbelief, I’m going to lay down until common sense prevails.
