• ! ! ! IMPORTANT MESSAGE ! ! !

    Discussions about police investigations

    In light of recent developments about a player from Premier League being arrested and until there is an official announcement, ALL users should refrain from discussing or speculating about situations around personal off-pitch matters related to any Arsenal player. This is to protect you and the forum.

    Users who disregard this reminder will be issued warnings and their posts will get deleted from public.

Granit Xhaka: Swiss Army Knife or Blunt Tool?

Will Xhaka be here after the summer window?

  • Yes

    Votes: 38 55.1%
  • No

    Votes: 31 44.9%

  • Total voters
    69
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.

RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
Partey, if he comes, will play alongside Xhaka.

Attributing league finishes to one player is just amateurish. I’m not going to explain what he brings to the team yet again as I’ll be repeating myself. Look it up.
Why not? When people say RVP carried us to top 4 in his final season here no one complains because we know it’s a fact. So, that is attributing a league finish to a player.

Points determine where you finish in the league right? If Granit Xhaka gives away 2 penalties when we are 1-0 up in both games and in both scenarios they score that penalty that means we have dropped 4 points. We have dropped 2 points in each game. Hence, it is more than possible for a single player to cause you to drop up or down the table. You just don’t like it when it’s against Xhaka though.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Interesting. So none of the Xhaka fanboys wanna bet me? A lot of big talk on here but just like Xhaka and top 4 finish, they find a way to bottle it.
1. Xhaka fanboys don’t seem to understand that he’s the best of a bad bunch, not that he’s any good. We can’t function without him cos his replacements are a petulant child and a midget who can’t pass.
2. Xhaka and Partey together in midfield is a very defensive pivot. That’s something you expect to see from Emery not Arteta. Everyone knows how we lack creativity so why would we play to DMs together and expect creativity? He wants 2 attack minded midfielders and a lone 6. It’s either going to be Xhaka or Partey.
1) Do you think league position is determined by just one player?

2) If he is the best of a bad bunch, surely you would getting rid of all the worse players first before him.

3) No one is his fanboy and think he is perfect. You make him look like a 3.5-4.5/10 player when he is certainly more closed to 6.5-7.5/10 player. Fanboy would rate him higher than that, we are just being fair to him. Bring his evaluation to a less bias ground. I have said he can be replaced with players like Roca/Cuisance/Tonali.

4) He may not be a title winning midfielder but he is more than capable helping a 3rd to 7th side.

5) Xhaka with Partey is not a defensive pivot. It’s a weaker Xavi with Busquets, or a weaker Pirlo with gattusso. The other teammates can push further up the pitch in attack.
 
Last edited:

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Why not? When people say RVP carried us to top 4 in his final season here no one complains because we know it’s a fact. So, that is attributing a league finish to a player.

Points determine where you finish in the league right? If Granit Xhaka gives away 2 penalties when we are 1-0 up in both games and in both scenarios they score that penalty that means we have dropped 4 points. We have dropped 2 points in each game. Hence, it is more than possible for a single player to cause you to drop up or down the table. You just don’t like it when it’s against Xhaka though.
Then how do you count his input when he has played an accurate pass to progress the play. The decision to play a quick long ball in counter. The decision to play it short and slow when we wanted to build up. Reading the game and controlling the dynamic of our play, dictating the tempo. He also distributes the ball around to make the team better when we are progressing up the pitch.
 
Last edited:

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Says he's not a fanboy but keeps on writing pointless essays to defend the guy:lol:
First, they are far from pointless. If you disagree, then argue with my points.

Second, I am happy to say goodbye to Xhaka, if we replaced him with better DLPs.
3) No one is his fanboy and think he is perfect. You make him look like a 3.5-4.5/10 player when he is certainly more closed to 6.5-7.5/10 player. Fanboy would rate him higher than that, we are just being fair to him. Bring his evaluation to a less bias ground. I have said he can be replaced with players like Roca/Cuisance/Tonali.
See if you would like Arsenal to get one of the above. Who out of these three deep lying playmakers would you prefer?
 
Last edited:

Jury

A-M's drunk uncle
I'm not against selling xhaka, but at least we should have a replacement before doing so, a replacement like Roca/Cuisance/Tonali, who can serve the same tactical purpose.

Do you understand why managers (ex-arsenal, arsenal and international) all like to use Xhaka? He has a quality that serves a tactical purpose that only few players can replicate.

Tactical details is the most important aspect of the game in a manger’s or in a sophisticated fan’s eyes.

It’s like having a team with 11 Mertesacker, and you want to play counter attack football. One day Walcott joins your team. Yes, Walcott always makes mistakes, he is a **** footballer and he always loses possession. But he serves the tactical purpose of playing counter attack, and you would be happy to have him in your team.

And Guardiola would not want Kante in his prime Barcelona, even if Kante offers much more defensive stability and athleticism than Busquets. Why? Because Kante would not be able to play his positional play (tiki taka) tactics. Kante couldn’t serve the tactical purpose of playing tiki taka.

What is in a manager’s mind?
Opponent set a high defensive line, I need Auba’s pace to exploit the space behind during counter attack. If Auba makes a run to exploit the space, who can make that 40 yards long pass to initiate the attack? Xhaka. Who else can? No one. If you don’t play Xhaka, your tactics is dead. As simple as this. You would want Xhaka in your team unless if someone else is capable of making the same type of pass.

No one says Xhaka is the best, but with the midfielders we are having now, he should be the first midfielder named on the starting lineup. If you think tactically, it’s hard not to see that this is the most logical choice. And it’s not just me, every managers he previously played with was thinking the same way, that’s why they picked him to play.

I don’t understand why most of you are so simple minded and just won’t think tactically. Unless if we get someone like Roca/Tonali /Cuisance, who serve the same tactical purpose to replace him, he will be played in almost every game. It’s fine to say he is not good enough or needed to be replaced. But at the moment, you can’t deny that he is a very important player to the team.
Our tactics are **** then and we need to sell them :lol:
 

James Bond

Moderation Consultant
Partey, if he comes, will play alongside Xhaka.

Attributing league finishes to one player is just amateurish. I’m not going to explain what he brings to the team yet again as I’ll be repeating myself. Look it up.

Man starts week in week out with no discernible stand out qualities besides simply being available for selection in the area of the pitch we’ve struggled in throughout his time, yet you want to deny he’s played a major role in the struggles overall? Wild.

So no simple answer to what he actually is good at huh? Interesting, but not surprising.

Again as long as Xhaka is here in general let alone starting the club will fail to reach the top.
 
Last edited:

Hleb's Sirush

Established Member
Would any of the Xhaka fanboys like to do a bet with me? I’m that confident that we will not finish in the top 4 if Xhaka is starting for us for the majority of next season. £50, I’m that confident Xhaka will block us from success.

I don't do bets and I'm certainly not a big fan of Xhaka, we need to upgrade on him asap. But if Saliba and Gabriel hit the ground running, Willian brings over his form from last season. We get in Partey and possibly another AM. Not mentioning the improvements we hoping to see in Pepe, Tierney, Laca etc. Then even if Xhaka starts majority of games and plays to his usual level we could easily get top 4. Or do you really believe if the rest of the team starts to function well, Xhaka on his own is able to nullify all that good work?
 

Ash10

Chairman of the Bum Brigade
Xhaka can get in to the midfield of any club in the world and improve it.
tenor.gif
 

RacingPhoton

Established Member
Again 5th, 6th, 5th, 8th with two sackings. How is Xhaka being one of the first names on the team sheet going for the club?

Since you claim to be one of those with a “deep understanding of the game” do tell what is Xhaka actually good at?



Emery wanted Partey, he didn’t get him and he was later sacked. Arteta took over mid season and Arteta still wants Partey. Clearly both identified midfield as somewhere that needed improving, so I’m not getting this thing where both were happy with Xhaka.

As for Arteta and Xhaka to me just like the situation with Luiz/Mustafi, Arteta came in a made the best of the situation (also knowing you’re not signing a starter in Jan) and set the team up to hide their flaws, but it was temporary and all three will be demoted/phased out as he knows they can/should be improved upon.
You will never get a good answer for that question. All you get in response will be a comparison with Alonso. Or the usual fallback argument that Arteta was a fanboy of Xhaka. Has Arteta ever bashed a regular player? He has been heaping praises to the likes of Mustafi and Luiz.
Some will even go as far as saying he should be playing for a top 4 team but he has made a big sacrifice by playing for us. It must have been so difficult for Xhaka to say no to all the big clubs who came knocking at his doors when he decided to move. He threw tantrums and expected that all big clubs will be lining up for him. No one gave a ****. He didn't have a choice but to stay back. Arsenal didn't have a choice because we didn't have an alternative. If we do get Partey, I can clearly see Xhaka being phased out soon.
 

Pyres7

Well-Known Member
People on here did say Xhaka would be off when Wenger left, then they said Emery has no choice but to play him, but now you have Arteta who is bit of an open Xhaka fanboy.

Players love him too. I don’t have a horse in this race, but we’re always better with him in the team.
The skeptic in me thinks Xhaka brown noses all the managers to make himself un-droppable. I mean when Emery took over, Xhaka was dedicating goals to him, running over to give him high fives when we scored at the other end of the pitch.

Maybe I'm overthinking it and he's just a genuinely nice person and a good professional. Obviously that kind of attitude will be appreciated over half-arsed/petulant players like Özil and Guendouzi.

Either way I don't think that should be used as an argument for Xhaka. Just because managers keep playing him doesn't mean he's good enough.
 

RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
You will never get a good answer for that question. All you get in response will be a comparison with Alonso. Or the usual fallback argument that Arteta was a fanboy of Xhaka. Has Arteta ever bashed a regular player? He has been heaping praises to the likes of Mustafi and Luiz.
Some will even go as far as saying he should be playing for a top 4 team but he has made a big sacrifice by playing for us. It must have been so difficult for Xhaka to say no to all the big clubs who came knocking at his doors when he decided to move. He threw tantrums and expected that all big clubs will be lining up for him. No one gave a ****. He didn't have a choice but to stay back. Arsenal didn't have a choice because we didn't have an alternative. If we do get Partey, I can clearly see Xhaka being phased out soon.
I remember Xhaka getting linked with a big money move to Inter Milan and Athletico Madrid during the summer that Emery came. I could not believe Xhaka was getting attention from such big clubs. You could even say I was slightly impressed. But then reality hit me hard. Both clubs quickly denied such rumours. Typical, maybe just agent talk.

Then after the whole Palace ordeal I was certain he'd be off to a decent club. Nope, the mighty Hertha Berlin came in. Not Milan, Barca, Juve, Bayern, City or Liverpool. Nope the mighty Hertha Berlin that finished 10th in the Bundesliga was the club that came closest to taking Xhaka. Even Coquelin managed to get himself a bigger club than Hertha Berlin. All this talk of Xhaka being highly rated or spoken with the greats is a myth. That's why I love it when our players get moved on and you see what club takes them. It's so humbling to see people go to war for mediocrity only for their idol to end up in a club you've never heard of.
 

RacingPhoton

Established Member
I remember Xhaka getting linked with a big money move to Inter Milan and Athletico Madrid during the summer that Emery came. I could not believe Xhaka was getting attention from such big clubs. You could even say I was slightly impressed. But then reality hit me hard. Both clubs quickly denied such rumours. Typical, maybe just agent talk.

Then after the whole Palace ordeal I was certain he'd be off to a decent club. Nope, the mighty Hertha Berlin came in. Not Milan, Barca, Juve, Bayern, City or Liverpool. Nope the mighty Hertha Berlin that finished 10th in the Bundesliga was the club that came closest to taking Xhaka. Even Coquelin managed to get himself a bigger club than Hertha Berlin. All this talk of Xhaka being highly rated or spoken with the greats is a myth. That's why I love it when our players get moved on and you see what club takes them. It's so humbling to see people go to war for mediocrity only for their idol to end up in a club you've never heard of.
Even Coquelin who is normally slated in AM was very good at one particular role. A team that is actually looking to fill that role would gladly take him. With Xhaka, there is no particular skill that he is so good at. Maybe the long balls which he plays after taking hours to get the ball under control could be useful in Bundesliga and Serie A. Even there, only mid table teams seem to be interested. Imagine Wenger getting confused about his skills and calling him a B2B midfielder :lol:
 

Mrs Bergkamp

Double Dusted
Dusted 🔻
Even Coquelin who is normally slated in AM was very good at one particular role. A team that is actually looking to fill that role would gladly take him. With Xhaka, there is no particular skill that he is so good at. Maybe the long balls which he plays after taking hours to get the ball under control could be useful in Bundesliga and Serie A. Even there, only mid table teams seem to be interested. Imagine Wenger getting confused about his skills and calling him a B2B midfielder :lol:

Whenever Wenger talked about Xhaka (which wasn't that often iirc) and the comment in bold especially, I was convinced that this was a Gazidis purchase that Wenger was forced to play him especially after he failed to buy in 2015. There were also rumours early on that Arteta bigged Xhaka up to his face but was happy if he left which understandably annoyed Xhaka. The turnaround in his situation is remarkable but I think he will he phased out next summer- if we have the money.
 

RacingPhoton

Established Member
Whenever Wenger talked about Xhaka (which wasn't that often iirc) and the comment in bold especially, I was convinced that this was a Gazidis purchase that Wenger was forced to play him especially after he failed to buy in 2015. There were also rumours early on that Arteta bigged Xhaka up to his face but was happy if he left which understandably annoyed Xhaka. The turnaround in his situation is remarkable but I think he will he phased out next summer- if we have the money.
We got ourselves into this situation because we sold Caz-Coq without finding good replacements. Managers had no choice. The fact that we are trying hard to buy midfielders this window shows that we very well know the problems with our midfield. Xhaka did work hard last season. Can't take that away. But his weaknesses will never go away and as you pointed out, he will be phased out in the one or two seasons.
 

Why

Always Me ?
A few good games towards the end of the season have not made me forget the limitations in Xhakas game. I see his name in loads of starting line ups for next season, some with Partey and Aouar.

Xhaka will not move this team forward. He will not bring us technical flexibility and he is nothing like Henderson as he offers zero mobility.

Playing Xhaka means you hear your whole system to protect him for the benefit of what exactly? Positional discipline because he can't actually move and passes to the left side. Buying a left footed CB negates the need to have Xhaka playing that pass. Buying a creative cm who is press resistant and can actually move negates the need for Xhaka. Bringing in the physicality of Partey negates Xhaka.

Arteta needs to build away from the man who threw the armband on the floor, told the fans to **** off, who hasn't apologised and whose first action was to seek a move away from the club. He still gives stupid fouls away, he still loses the ball in dangerous areas, he still fails to switch play, he is still a target for a press. We need better.

Replace Lacazette and Xhaka with better players and the team improves so much.

I agree with this about Xhaka, in the FA Cup he was at fault a few times for receiving the ball from the defence, not knowing who was behind him, not shielding the ball and either losing it when he tried to turn or just doing a duff pass back.

But once again, who is going to buy him? I imagine we would want 40+mil for him. He isn't easily replaced at the moment and sadly does a better job than the other options we have. If we did get Partey (Which we won't) I would rather have Partey/AMN together as at least AMN has the ability to carry the ball, be physical, pick a pass and has a brain.

I don't see either leaving as we won't get a return thats enough to buy anyone better. I sense the next 2 years will be a slow rebuild, and bedding in the youth with experience from people like Auba, Willian and Luiz with players like Martinelli, Saka, ESR and Nelson taking over the mantle.

But it wont be 1 window, as clubs aren't taking punts at the moment. When you don't have gate receipts for 6+ months your ability to shill 40mil on a someone who isn't definitely going to enhance your team.
 

HairSprayGooners

My brother posted it ⏩
I agree with this about Xhaka, in the FA Cup he was at fault a few times for receiving the ball from the defence, not knowing who was behind him, not shielding the ball and either losing it when he tried to turn or just doing a duff pass back.

But once again, who is going to buy him? I imagine we would want 40+mil for him. He isn't easily replaced at the moment and sadly does a better job than the other options we have. If we did get Partey (Which we won't) I would rather have Partey/AMN together as at least AMN has the ability to carry the ball, be physical, pick a pass and has a brain.

I don't see either leaving as we won't get a return thats enough to buy anyone better. I sense the next 2 years will be a slow rebuild, and bedding in the youth with experience from people like Auba, Willian and Luiz with players like Martinelli, Saka, ESR and Nelson taking over the mantle.

But it wont be 1 window, as clubs aren't taking punts at the moment. When you don't have gate receipts for 6+ months your ability to shill 40mil on a someone who isn't definitely going to enhance your team.

A double pivot of AMN and Partey offers absolutely no DLP attributes. We are going after Partey because he is like AMN but 10x more talented in every area.

The midfield needs more balance. Xhaka offers a good balance between a Partey type player and an Aouar type player. Ceballos also offers that balance but Xhaka has the added qualities as a leader.

Only player i'd bring in to ditch Xhaka is Thiago tbh.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts+

Top Bottom