Arsenal has some fine midfielders in their ranks, but on the whole, our performance from the midfield has been average.
The likes of Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka have impressed under Mikel Arteta. However, there are some that haven’t been pulling their weight and in this article, I will rate and slate them.
Dani Ceballos – STAY
The Spaniard has grown into an important member of our first team. He has now become a midfielder who understands his responsibility to press. Adding that to his fine creativity makes him one player that we must keep.
Mesut Ozil – LEAVE
Ozil has become a problem for Arsenal now after signing his new deal with the club in 2018.
The Gunners are now struggling to offload him and that is exactly what all their focus should be because he has nothing else to offer us.
Lucas Torreira – LEAVE
Mikel Arteta is bringing a new style of play to the Emirates and Torreira has struggled to fit in.
The Uruguayan is a crowd favourite, but if he can’t get into Arteta’s team, we might as well cash in on him.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – LEAVE
Maitland-Niles is another player that has struggled to find a place in Arteta’s plans, and the Englishman would probably need to find a new team to get his career back on track. He has been used more as a right-back for the team.
Joe Willock – STAY
Willock is emerging as a fine midfielder in this Arsenal team, with the academy product now playing more and more often for the club. He can only get better with more chances.
Matteo Guendouzi – LEAVE
The Frenchman has failed to translate his aggressive attitude to his play and his recent exile from the team might be the end of his time at the Emirates and selling him now would be for the best.
Granit Xhaka – STAY
Xhaka has grown up to become an important player at Arsenal, and the Swiss midfielder is one player that seems to be improving under Arteta. His influence on the team is ever growing, and he should even be given a new deal.
An article from Ime
That’s a whole team
I agree with all the above except Xhaka. To be effective in the modern game a good defensive midfielder MUST have the following skills –
ability to turn quickly with the ball on both sides
creativity, vision and leadership
good in the air
athletic ability and speed
ability to shield the back four and tackle
ability to dictate pace of play
Ever sins the departure of Alex Song and Francis Coquelin this position has been vacant.
So granit khaka has been our mainstay midfield that has failed to dominate and has more holes in than a tea bag and we want him to stay. Wow, we will better expect no improvement then. If you cant see he has been the problem since he came and still is. He has been the symptom of our mediocrity, i am amazed.
Yes Although Ozil is still a good player when he wants to get his backside moving ,he’s been draining the club’s finance’s for to long now and we’ve got to let him go saying about Ainsley Maitland-Niles l would keep him & Sead Kolasinac
l would keep Xhaka & Torereia, Guenduezi is a talent but after the Brighton game l’m undecided,we cannot let Joe Willock
Xhaka should leave. Maitland-Niles and Gouendouzi should stay. Xhaka cannot dictate the tempo of the game. Gouendouzi can, but he lacks experience. Arteta should should give Maitland-Niles the midfield position to complete with Xhaka
AMN is Arsenal’s best right back defensively and provides overlap when teamed with Pepe. He should be playing instead of Bellerin. His versatility to play in his preferred midfield role as well as his age means he should be retained.
I’m sorry there’s no way Xhaka should be considered as anything we can build a successful side with. Saying he has improved under Arteta means nothing when he’s gone from being utterly useless to bang average. When you have bang average players in your side you end up in an average position in the league table. It never lies.
For what it’s worth I would keep AMN and Willock and unload the rest .Ozil will of course be with us for the duration of his contract as he is not a marketable commodity in terms of value for money..We need to bring in a top quality DM and an AM with pace and energy Why AMN is not getting a start under Arteta is beyond me.I was under the impression he and Arteta had settled their differences?