While it is still very early in the Arsenal career of the Swiss international midfield star Granit Xhaka, the signs are good so far. We saw during the Euro 2016 tournament this summer that our new signing had a good football brain and the ability to control a game and set the tempo with his passing from the middle of the pitch.
Along with his very good energy and work rate and a definite streak of aggression with the willingness to make a tackle, this all suggested that the Gunners were getting something of a midfield general for the £35 million or so we paid to his former club Borussia Monchengladbach.
What most of us did not really expect from him was goals. His record of nine goals from 140 games during his four seasons in Munich did not suggest that he would be chipping in like the former Arsenal captain and midfield warrior Patrick Vieira used to do, but perhaps we were wrong.
Two goals in two games from Xhaka after Arsene Wenger’s comments about him being better suited to the box-to-box role could point to the 23-year old possibly being the player that finally stops Arsenal fans asking if we will ever really replace the combative Frenchman.
So I looked a little more closely at his record and found that eight of his nine goals in Germany came in the last two seasons. Look at how long it took Aaron Ramsey to find his shooting boots and the same might be true of the new Gunner.
Do you think Xhaka could turn out to be another Vieira for Arsenal?
Bob.