Manberg
Predator
Under Arteta, Xhaka has been integral to the team. Even being one of the few who put in a good performance when the result is not one we want.
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Granit Xhaka: 2019/20 Performances
- Thread starter Ricardinho
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Under Arteta, Xhaka has been integral to the team. Even being one of the few who put in a good performance when the result is not one we want.
Maybe
You're wrong, no?
I can already see arguments coming in that Xhaka is an away game specialist.
Gunners1616
Well-Known Member
Xhaka can still be useful but only if he is next to a real athletic DM like Partey or Ndidi/Soumaré. Nevertheless if we have an opportunity to sell him in Germany we should take it before his value drops entirely. Same goes for Torreira if Arteta doesn't rate him.
Its time to rebuild a solid and technical midfield because both the defense and the attack are suffering because of it. And the focus has to be on strong dudes.
Its time to rebuild a solid and technical midfield because both the defense and the attack are suffering because of it. And the focus has to be on strong dudes.
Erlis
Only Came To See Granit Xhaka
Country: Kosova
Do you ever get tired of writing rubbish in Xhaka s thread. I have been banned several times only because of people like you who have a daily agenda to come talk rubbish about players, and you did survive.
If there is any player that stands up for his team mates that is Xhaka. You cant question that, no one can.
RacingPhoton
Established Member
I am just speaking the facts. When he was asked about his own mistake he responded asking why people are not asking about the mistakes made by the forwards. Is this how you stand up for team mates?
I have all rights to question his attitude. Every fan has the right to question his attitude.I don't know the exact reason why you were banned. But I have my favourite players too who have been bashed by many posters here. I have had arguments with every one of them. And most of the arguments are purely football related. Maybe you are crossing the line somewhere?
Erlis
Only Came To See Granit Xhaka
Country: Kosova
I am just speaking the facts. When he was asked about his own mistake he responded asking why people are not asking about the mistakes made by the forwards. Is this how you stand up for team mates?
I don't know the exact reason why you were banned. But I have my favourite players too who have been bashed by many posters here. I have had arguments with every one of them. And most of the arguments are purely football related. Maybe you are crossing the line somewhere?
Get lost, attention seeker.
RacingPhoton
Established Member
It has been quite a long time since anyone used this GIF on this forum. I couldn't stop myself from using it now
lomekian
Essays are my thing
Good digging for info. Not sure I give much credence to Sky ratings as they are often nonsense, but the bigger stats are undeniable. The question is whether correlation indicates causation. Can we take any conclusion from this bar that we've been abysmal away from home for 4 years?
Not bigging up Xhaka, but when the team is an incoherent cowardly mess its hard to evaluate individuals from looking at the bigger picture
lomekian
Essays are my thing
Not sure our decline has much to do with him in isolation. I'd have him at the level of guy who is top 4 standard in the right set up and Europa League standard in the wrong set up. Sadly he's mostly been in the wrong set up in a team really lacking in high end quality
lomekian
Essays are my thing
There are 3 elements to Xhaka's game that are high quality.
Deep distribution we can all see.
Tactical intelligence is harder to judge, but for all his flaws, he can read a game very well and gives us structure.
Bravery / taking responsibilty. Now sometimes this leads to stupid fouls etc, but the one thing you really notice about Xhaka is (apart from the end of emery when the entire team was mentally broken) he is always making himself available to receive a pass. He's always giving team-mates an option or release valve. So many of our other players hide in plain sight and leave their team-mates in trouble. Xhaka is a very unselfish player.
If he's still our most important midfielder in 2 years time that will be depressing, but he's the one guy in central areas for us who always plays for the team. Same reason I always loved Rambo, even when he was struggling. Never hid, always gave options to the man on the ball. Ceballos tries to do that, but lacks the tactical intelligence and takes too many touches.
Maybe
You're wrong, no?
He was a direct replacement for Cazorla who was arguably our best players for years. If he replaced someone like Giroud or Walcott on that level, he would probably get away with it and we wouldn't see such a sharp fall as a club. Think the standards that were set by Cazorla and Fabregas were too high for most of the players that we could buy
lomekian
Essays are my thing
Granit Xhaka needs athleticism and dynamism around him so he can be more metronomic and play a simpler game. You need to limit the ground he has to cover and give him an easy option ball so he feels safe enough to be more expansive.
The last period of Wenger and Emery both hung him out to dry terribly, and he made mistakes. Arteta at least seems to understand what Xhaka is as a player unlike the other two, and so we are now in a far better position to see what his level is and whether he's worth keeping as a key component.
It used to drive me mental under Emery. Anyone expecting Xhaka to cover 40-50 yards of space on his own is an idiot. He's a physically strong, decent technical player with tactical intelligence and a good team ethic. He is not, and will never be an athletic ground covering player or a nimble ball manipulator.
Either we need to set the midfield up in a way that allows him to be effective or we move him on. There will be plenty of teams happy to give us our money back for him, I suspect.
The last period of Wenger and Emery both hung him out to dry terribly, and he made mistakes. Arteta at least seems to understand what Xhaka is as a player unlike the other two, and so we are now in a far better position to see what his level is and whether he's worth keeping as a key component.
It used to drive me mental under Emery. Anyone expecting Xhaka to cover 40-50 yards of space on his own is an idiot. He's a physically strong, decent technical player with tactical intelligence and a good team ethic. He is not, and will never be an athletic ground covering player or a nimble ball manipulator.
Either we need to set the midfield up in a way that allows him to be effective or we move him on. There will be plenty of teams happy to give us our money back for him, I suspect.
Mraven
Active Member
You keep saying this so I assume you can post a link. It sounds incredibly out of context
lomekian
Essays are my thing
Even worse than that, he was seemingly expected to be a mix of Cazorla and Coquelin. Neither of which were possible for him. And skill wise Cazorla is light years ahead of Xhaka (and most midfielders even at the top level tbh. If Cazorla was 10 years younger, Barcelona would be after him).
If he was more athletic and nimble he had a ceiling as a sort of Emmanuel Petit, but he simply lacks the physical attributes.
That said, stick him alongside Patrick Vieira, and he'd look a real player!
RacingPhoton
Established Member
RacingPhoton
Established Member
He can play those long balls which helps with distribution. But he needs immense space and time to that. Most teams have already identified this and they just keep one player near him to cut off that one good thing that he could possibly do.
He is neither brave nor responsible. If you are talking about hiding, he would be one among the top list of hiders. After the last time he conceded penalty due to that stupid tackle, he did not even venture into the box for many games. He was trying hard to stay away from danger zone. He "looks" brave. But he is far from brave.
He just pads up his statistics with those back passes to the keeper and sideways passes.
Look at the big chances created list this season, filter by club Arsenal:
https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/big_chance_created
He just created 1 chance so far this season. 5 in the 2018/19 season and 3 in the 2017/18 season.
Players who have played much less minutes have created more big chances. Compare that with the number of goals Xhaka has been directly responsible for. Having him in the team is only counter-productive. All his so called positives are overrated.
I'm not his biggest fan, but I think we should persist with this guy. The vast majority of DM's peak in their late 20's/early 30's, and I think there have been signs under Arteta he is starting to understand the position. I really liked how quickly he was getting the ball out wide pre lockdown, especially to Saka when he basically occupied the left flank.
He has shown in the past he is effective when he has a mobile partner next to him, with people offering between the lines ahead of him. When partnered with Rambo in the 343 in 16/17 and 18/19, he put in some very good performances.
I think he would be solid with a guy like Partey next to him, and proper attacking midfielders ahead that give him options on the ball (thinking Grealish/Aouar/Maddison). These profiles are what we should be targeting rebuild the midfield.
He has shown in the past he is effective when he has a mobile partner next to him, with people offering between the lines ahead of him. When partnered with Rambo in the 343 in 16/17 and 18/19, he put in some very good performances.
I think he would be solid with a guy like Partey next to him, and proper attacking midfielders ahead that give him options on the ball (thinking Grealish/Aouar/Maddison). These profiles are what we should be targeting rebuild the midfield.
lomekian
Essays are my thing
If you think his role in this team is or has been as a chance creator, and if you think he hides, I'm not sure you understand football. You are judging him for not doing things he's not there to do, and is not asked to do. When he first started to Switzerland he was impactful in the final 3rd, but he's been moved backwards in Germany and again at Arsenal. His role is give structure to our play from deep. Passing backwards and sideways is a legitimate element of what he is in the team to do. Had we other competent distributors in central areas, it would right to demand more of him. He did bring more going forward in 16/17, as we had team that still played on the front foot, and he was given more of a licence to press, particularly with a back 3. Since then, its been rubbish all round. Personally I'd like to see him given the chance to impact things further up the pitch, but when Torreira's out, he's the only one with even basic level positioning and structure.
That said, your contribution to this thread is primarily an endless exercise in character assassination, so I'm not sure there's much point in us exchanging comments.
Mraven
Active Member
He’s not blaming anyone. He is clearly annoyed that people focus only on the mistakes instead of the fact that we played well enough to win the game.
sdotzdot
Established Member
He’s probably our most key player for the defensive set up Arteta has us in. How ****ing depressing is that. Xhaka, the key player for the team.
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