Granit Xhaka: Swiss Army Knife or Blunt Tool?

[The_Playmaker]

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.

You realise Aouar is fully capable of playing in a double pivot. He played in a double pivot with Ndombele and did it vs Man City also. He prefers the left side where Xhaka currently plays.

He brings all the traits to the position that Thiago would. He can easily replace Xhaka. Xhaka is not that good ffs, but in comparison to Torreira and Guendouzi he is. Ffs even Ceballos makes Xhaka redundant.

 

[MikelHadADream]

You realise Aouar is fully capable of playing in a double pivot. He played in a double pivot with Ndombele and did it vs Man City also. He prefers the left side where Xhaka currently plays.

He brings all the traits to the position that Thiago would. He can easily replace Xhaka. Xhaka is not that good ffs, but in comparison to Torreira and Guendouzi he is. Ffs even Ceballos makes Xhaka redundant.

You're right, but if we signed Aouar he'd certainly be the most advanced player imo. Firstly I dont think Arteta would trust him defensively in that role, and secondly I think he'd want him receiving the ball higher up the pitch.

Xhaka obviously has his limitations, but he undoubtedly provides balance to the side. He has cut out a lot of the mistakes and has turned into a solid defensive player. He also is super fit so can play every 3 days, and is useful on defensive sey pieces. Its obvious he is Arteta's go to man in midfield and will be a starter next season. At the worst he is a very good player to have in the squad.

 

[Garrincha]

Xhaka is here to stay.

Never been a big fan myself but you have to accept managers depend on him & he is literally the only midfielder we have right now not outcast / expected to leave.

He won.

 

[say yes]

Xhaka is here to stay.

Never been a big fan myself but you have to accept managers depend on him & he is literally the only midfielder we have right now not outcast / expected to leave.

He won.

Arsenal have won. He’s a very good midfielder who wanted to leave. Full credit to Arteta for turning it around.

 

[Garrincha]

Arsenal have won. He’s a very good midfielder who wanted to leave. Full credit to Arteta for turning it around.

We have to wait & see.

Looks to be a completely new midfield around him again... I dont think the last one worked but maybe this one will.

 

[Riou]

I like to think of it that Arsenal lost, rather than Xhaka won...he is a good player, but his importance is just because our midfield as been poor since around 2017.

As others said in his thread...Granit was determined to leave Arsenal after the incident, but when Hertha Berlin was the only option...Xhaka had a little rethink.

 

[Dutch D]

You're right, but if we signed Aouar he'd certainly be the most advanced player imo. Firstly I dont think Arteta would trust him defensively in that role, and secondly I think he'd want him receiving the ball higher up the pitch.

Xhaka obviously has his limitations, but he undoubtedly provides balance to the side. He has cut out a lot of the mistakes and has turned into a solid defensive player. He also is super fit so can play every 3 days, and is useful on defensive sey pieces. Its obvious he is Arteta's go to man in midfield and will be a starter next season. At the worst he is a very good player to have in the squad.

Xhaka has been solid defensively recently, but that's partially because he's been aided by our very negative park-the-bus approach against the big sides.

His big weaknesses, lack of mobility and not being able to receive the ball and play out from under pressure, remain and those will hinder us transitioning to a more positive, technical style of play.

I think Aouar and Partey together have enough defensive capability and ability to drive the ball forward to replace whatever you miss by leaving Xhaka out of the line-up. Pair them with a dedicated defensive midfielder (Maitland-Niles, Ceballos) and we should not miss Xhaka at all.

 

[Manberg]

I like to think of it that Arsenal lost, rather than Xhaka won...he is a good player, but his importance is just because our midfield as been poor since around 2017.

As others said in his thread...Granit was determined to leave Arsenal after the incident, but when Hertha Berlin was the only option...Xhaka had a little rethink.

Xhaka didn't rethink because Hertha Berlin was the club that bid for him. He decided to stay after meeting with new manager Arteta, who told Xhaka how important he is in Arteta's plans. Xhaka felt encouraged by the meeting and put his animosity towards the fans aside. What he's done takes huge character.

 

[RunTheTrap]

Xhaka is here to stay.

Never been a big fan myself but you have to accept managers depend on him & he is literally the only midfielder we have right now not outcast / expected to leave.

He won.

Won what? He wanted out in January. Realised his only option was Hertha Berlin and came back. No one won but both parties lost. I think Arsenal and Xhaka is like a miserable marriage, where divorce is probably the best thing but the fear of having no one there is a bit scary. We have been a lot with him and because of that we often think something worthwhile will come out of it, to justify the suffering but that's not life. Sometimes the right thing to do is to cut your losses and move on. Maybe Xhaka can be that top class midfielder but it won't be at Arsenal.

 

[RunTheTrap]

Xhaka didn't rethink because Hertha Berlin was the club that bid for him. He decided to stay after meeting with new manager Arteta, who told Xhaka how important he is in Arteta's plans. Xhaka felt encouraged by the meeting and put his animosity towards the fans aside. What he's done takes huge character.

Xhaka text you that? Again you're creating scenarios in your head where Xhaka is the saviour of Arsenal. So you're honestly telling me if Bayern Munich or Real Madrid came in for him after the whole Palace debacle, he would stay?

 

[Manberg]

Xhaka text you that? Again you're creating scenarios in your head where Xhaka is the saviour of Arsenal. So you're honestly telling me if Bayern Munich or Real Madrid came in for him after the whole Palace debacle, he would stay?

‘The first message for him was that I wanted to understand how he was feeling, why he was feeling that way,’ said Arteta. ‘I wanted him to hear from me my opinion on him, and that I was ready to support him and that I was ready to push the club to be supportive of him too, because I thought he could be a really, really good player for us and he could enjoy playing under me in this football club. ‘I tried to convince him that way. He thought about it, he had a very positive response afterwards, and I think he changed his mind.’


Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/09/mike...anit-xhaka-stay-arsenal-12033927/?ito=cbshare

 

[Garrincha]

Won what? He wanted out in January. Realised his only option was Hertha Berlin and came back. No one won but both parties lost. I think Arsenal and Xhaka is like a miserable marriage, where divorce is probably the best thing but the fear of having no one there is a bit scary. We have been a lot with him and because of that we often think something worthwhile will come out of it, to justify the suffering but that's not life. Sometimes the right thing to do is to cut your losses and move on. Maybe Xhaka can be that top class midfielder but it won't be at Arsenal.

Last midfielder standing.

 

[RunTheTrap]

‘The first message for him was that I wanted to understand how he was feeling, why he was feeling that way,’ said Arteta. ‘I wanted him to hear from me my opinion on him, and that I was ready to support him and that I was ready to push the club to be supportive of him too, because I thought he could be a really, really good player for us and he could enjoy playing under me in this football club. ‘I tried to convince him that way. He thought about it, he had a very positive response afterwards, and I think he changed his mind.’


Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/09/mike...anit-xhaka-stay-arsenal-12033927/?ito=cbshare

You didn't answer my question. Knowing Xhaka as well as you do, do you think he would have left us if a bigger club came in for him in January.

 

[Manberg]

You didn't answer my question. Knowing Xhaka as well as you do, do you think he would have left us if a bigger club came in for him in January.

I didn't say he wouldn't have left if Bayern Munich or such made an offer. I said the reason he stayed was because of a meeting with Arteta, not because it was Hertha Berlin. It was public knowledge.

He was at such a low point due to relations with toxic fans that the status of the club likely wasn't a huge factor and he really wanted to leave Arsenal. To come back from that is huge. Speaks volumes of his character.

 

[Jury]

Xhaka can get in to the midfield of any club in the world and improve it.

Problem for the great Granit was, only Hertha Berlin thought he might improve them when he was hell bent on leaving.

 

[Ash10]

Problem for the great Granit was, only Hertha Berlin thought he might improve them when he was hell bent on leaving.

Just wait & see how he comes up with a made up narrative as always

 

[Jack_The_Lad]

visited his agent last week and had a chat.

make of that what you will...

 

[Tourbillion]

I dream of a post-Xhaka world.

 

[Taneruit]

visited his agent last week and had a chat.

make of that what you will...

Is there any kind of source for that? Because I’m not coming up with anything.

 

[Marjorie]

Maybe the club is open to letting him go if deals for likes of Partey, Ceballos and/or Aouar are possible.