Granit Xhaka: 2019/20 Performances

[Riou]

Xhaka in his first season was beating the likes of Chelsea and City in the FA Cup whilst Coq was watching from the bench. How's that for some nostalgia

He was very good against Chelsea tbf to him, can't remember how he played against City though.

Coquelin's performance away to United in our 2015 FA Cup run was perfect for me, him going mental helped get Di Maria sent off too.

 

[krengon]

You cannot attribute our league position to one single player ffs.

It's one of the most nonsensical arguments I've ever seen here.

 

[Manberg]

Xhaka is a masterful passer, and his ability to make cross field passes, switch the play and dictate tempo goes unnoticed by most. People just praise defence splitting passes, that’s chiefly the AM’s job. Xhaka does sometimes create chances by finding forward players in space too. However, Arteta places that occasional responsibility on the centre backs Luiz and Mustafi.

 

[Furious]

He was very good against Chelsea tbf to him, can't remember how he played against City though.

Coquelin's performance away to United in our 2015 FA Cup run was perfect for me, him going mental helped get Di Maria sent off too.

Jeez, every discussion you engage you do not hesitate to extend/relate to something that has happened even further back. I'm thus upgrading your name to a "nostalgic perv".

 

[krengon]

As for Xhaka he can still step up a level, he's shown better form than this previously.. Need the consistency though.

 

[OnlyOne]

Granit can be improved on but he's clearly showed he's first name on the team sheet at the moment, any CM we pick up now will play alongside him. I'm very happy with how he's playing atm.

 

[DanDare]

This is what you said:


You cannot attribute our league position to one single player ffs.

And you cut the previous sentence of why?

To absolve him of all responsibility for team performance or to lump it all on him would both be unreasonable.

He has been a mainstay in the team during a period where we've been poor. My position is:

He is partially responsible for team poor performances (you could argue as he's played the most he is more responsible) as can be seen by his mediocre and poor performances contributing to us not competing which is evidenced by our league position in conjunction with his and others' performances.

Your position seems to be he's just never had the right team situation so you can't hold him responsible at all??

 

[Furious]

And you cut the previous sentence of why?



He has been a mainstay in the team during a period where we've been poor. My position is:

He is partially responsible for team poor performances (you could argue as he's played the most he is more responsible) as can be seen by his mediocre and poor performances contributing to us not competing which is evidenced by our league position in conjunction with his and others' performances.

Your position seems to be he's just never had the right team situation so you can't hold him responsible at all??

Because I already had addressed that, and you using our league postions as "evidence" is contradictory to that sentence.

That's better, I can go along with that. He's partially responsible, that's obviously not up to debate, but he's one player though, and the league positions can never be down to one player, it's a collective effort; unless you're Messi.

 

[krackpot]

He was very good against Chelsea tbf to him, can't remember how he played against City though.

Coquelin's performance away to United in our 2015 FA Cup run was perfect for me, him going mental helped get Di Maria sent off too.

Di Maria is a softie cnut. Talented, but a coward.

I shudder to think of A-M's state if we had got di maria instead of Özil

 

[MikelHadADream]

I'd argue he has played much better than these last 4 games, and even prior to Arteta, in the past. What's your view on that, mate?

Been solid, but think he has been somewhat lacking in passing, especially in this 343 formation, where he hasn't been as much on the ball as he usually is.

His best spells of form for Arsenal have come in a 343 with Ramsey next to him. Was really good back end of 16/17 (cup final stand out performance), I think sue to the defensive solidity behind him, Ramseys athleticism next to him, and 3 players in in front that offered options between the lines (Alexis, Özil, Ramsey).

I think last season he generally started to improve defensively (Brighton brainfart aside), he had some really good defensive performances, United at home being an example. Defensive midfield is a position where you really do need experience, so I'm not surprised he is starting to kick on (my opinion).

Passing wise, I think it's an issue with the team. We don't have anyone that can play in-between the lines or on the half turn. I think Arteta mentioned this after the game, so hopefully it's something that gets addressed in the summer.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

Di Maria is a softie cnut. Talented, but a coward.

I shudder to think of A-M's state if we had got di maria instead of Özil

The worst thing about getting Özil and not getting Di Maria is that we probably would've picked up Fabregas the following year as we would have needed an attacking midfielder. Say what you want about Di Maria but he was lethal on the counter attack. Fabregas with prime Ramsey, Cazorla, Di Maria and Sanchez would've been amazing. Even Giroud would've been banging in goals for fun with that setup.

 

[razörist]

The worst thing about getting Özil and not getting Di Maria is that we probably would've picked up Fabregas the following year as we would have needed an attacking midfielder. Say what you want about Di Maria but he was lethal on the counter attack. Fabregas with prime Ramsey, Cazorla, Di Maria and Sanchez would've been amazing. Even Giroud would've been banging in goals for fun with that setup.

You had me until Giroud.

 

[Furious]

His best spells of form for Arsenal have come in a 343 with Ramsey next to him. Was really good back end of 16/17 (cup final stand out performance), I think sue to the defensive solidity behind him, Ramseys athleticism next to him, and 3 players in in front that offered options between the lines (Alexis, Özil, Ramsey).

I think last season he generally started to improve defensively (Brighton brainfart aside), he had some really good defensive performances, United at home being an example. Defensive midfield is a position where you really do need experience, so I'm not surprised he is starting to kick on (my opinion).

Passing wise, I think it's an issue with the team. We don't have anyone that can play in-between the lines or on the half turn. I think Arteta mentioned this after the game, so hopefully it's something that gets addressed in the summer.

Good point re. the offered options between the lines - these days Auba is almost always the one involved the most from our attackers, and that is embarrassing really.

However, Xhaka still had problems controlling the game passing wise yesterday, Wolves didn't allow him on the ball, Dendoncker was on him pretty much the whole game, and thus the onus was on either Luiz to take a few meters with the ball, whilst Xhaka opens up the space by moving to the left, or Ceballos, given he's superior technically to offer himself as an option, but even he had his problems. Once the game opened up, he was able to be involved more. I was ok with the approach though, Wolves clearly were trying to lure us into mistakes, which we didn't fall into.

Though, I liked the way Arteta set up in the beginning better, with Saka going forward and Xhaka building up from the left, but if this is better overall for the team, then I'm all up for it.

But yeah, that period with Ramsey was his probably best spell. Even last season they had a good period together during the later stages before Ramsey got injured, think that was in a 3 at the back formation too. The first 6 months with Torreira were also good, until Emery went crazy with chopping and changing. Let's see how it goes further forward, a player like Thomas would obviously take us into a different level altogether, and the maybe the need for Xhaka will be less apparent.

 

[LG10]

We’ve had to suffer from Xhaka mistakes for years because we signed him when he was a baby in dm terms.

Now he is entering his prime and is starting to master his position and has cut down on the unforced errors. He also now has the perfect coach to guide him. The club is now reaping the rewards for being patient with him, hopefully his upward trajectory in performances continues. Getting Partey will only help the cause.

 

[Oxeki]

He was very good against Chelsea tbf to him, can't remember how he played against City though.

Coquelin's performance away to United in our 2015 FA Cup run was perfect for me, him going mental helped get Di Maria sent off too.

The gold standard is still his performance in our 2-0 win against city at the Etihad.

Absolutely unplayable. A level Xhaka wishes he could reach

 

[krackpot]

We’ve had to suffer from Xhaka mistakes for years because we signed him when he was a baby in dm terms.

Now he is entering his prime and is starting to master his position and has cut down on the unforced errors. He also now has the perfect coach to guide him. The club is now reaping the rewards for being patient with him, hopefully his upward trajectory in performances continues. Getting Partey will only help the cause.

Good point.

Not just Partey, i think we need two runners beside him to release pressure on him.

Think just a few more tweaks to the formation and it will start fitting almost all our players.

But yeah, that period with Ramsey was his probably best spell. Even last season they had a good period together during the later stages before Ramsey got injured, think that was in a 3 at the back formation too. The first 6 months with Torreira were also good, until Emery went crazy with chopping and changing. Let's see how it goes further forward, a player like Thomas would obviously take us into a different level altogether, and the maybe the need for Xhaka will be less apparent.

Ideally, we get Pogba (or the like), so he has Partey next to him and Pogba/Özil further forward.

Saka/Teriney next to him helps him a lot as they can run for him, but they need to be disciplined enough.

 

[harunh]

First name on the team sheet as im concerned, i understand why all 3 managers would never drop him, he is a very imporant player , his defensive game has improved a lot in the past 6 months.

 

[RunTheTrap]

You can 100% attribute a player to a league position. Points determine your league position. We can admit RVP carried us into top 4 in his final season here with all his match winning goals. Likewise it's a fact we have dropped points from the mistakes of Xhaka and Mustafi. So why can't we attribute a league position to player with some context?

If you have a striker who scores, let's say the winner 3 times. He's won you 9 points. Like wise if Xhaka gives away a penalty that turns a win into a draw. That's 2 points loss.

 

[lomekian]

Lol Ziyech does it up front, from deep, from the side, from everywhere. Shut up and watch the video before you pass judgement.

To be fair, Ziyech is an excellent passer and if he can cope with the physical intensity will be a steal for Chelsea. Lovely player

 

[lomekian]

You can say what you want about Coq...his 2015 form, is significantly better than any run of for Xhaka has showed for us, anyone disagreeing has a pro Granit agenda.

No they don't.

Coquelin was an effective partner for Cazorla because he was good at the things Cazorla wasn't...mostly around the physical ball winning side of the game.

Now I like Coquelin from the day he turned up as a teenager, but tactically and technically he was always limited, and was only good for us alongside Santi or alongside Jack and was poor alongside anyone else.

But any EPL level player with good physical attributes and a true team ethic would look good alongside Santi.