We would need to replace his progressive passing in the team. He's not Cazorla in terms of key passes but he's the only one who does it. Guendouzi has the ability but he takes too many touches and slows the game down. Torreira has the ability but plays it safer because he's the defensive one. Xhaka reliably passes forward into dangerous positions more than our other midfielders. It's the ONE thing he does consistently well, and the main reason why he stays in the team.
Because we literally have nobody else who can transition in midfield. Had Wenger stayed,we'd probably have kept Cazorla which would still be insufficient. I thought Özil could play this role but Emery doesn't pick him so we're stuffed.
It's an interesting graph tbh. As Xhaka doesn't seem very press proof,Guendouzi could be the one to receive it from the back three and pass to Xhaka further up field. One of Laca/Auba should come deeper wide right to provide an option on the opposite side to Iwobi. Good movement by at least one FB provides another option. The issue is that too many players have too many limitations as does Xhaka himself.
