Darren Bent has claimed that Granit Xhaka is loved by his team-mates in the dressing room, but remains a liability to Arsenal which Mikel Arteta must address.
The midfielder continues to attract negative press since joining the club from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016, having been dropped as the club’s captain prio
“I know that the Xhaka thing is an issue,” Bent told TalkSport listeners. “By all accounts, he is a great guy in the dressing room. The players seem to love him.
“But on the pitch, he is a bit of a liability. He (Arteta) needs to look at the scenario.”
It is hard to argue that his lack of discipline isn’t going to be detrimental to the club’s results, although I do understand that his red cards are sometimes down to having to cover for other players who have been drawn out of position, and he isn’t solely to blame on some counts.
I’m sure the club is preparing to bolster our midfield in the coming window regardless, and Thomas Partey is unlikely to be the one to make way when a new signing is found.
Will the manager be keen to offload the Swiss midfielder this summer? Have the club finally had enough?
Patrick