Xhaka in! A good start, but where will it end up? by KM
Hello fellow Gooners! I know a lot of people have probably written their say on Xhaka so I’ll try to keep it short on him and what his impact on the season will be. The transfer is a no brainer! We needed a DM and we’ve added him. Interesting what will that midfield partnership be like? Xhaka – Coq/Elneny/ Cazorla/Ramsey/Wilshere? Considering the latter will be most-likely injured, it still leaves questions.
For me Coquelin and Elneny are the contenders, because of Cazorla’s age and Ramsey inconsistency and the fact you cannot name his best position. Xhaka – Elneny, two former FC Basel players, duking it out in Arsenals midfield? For what I know about Granit, he is a fighter with a record that doesn’t spare cards. He’s also a player that is known for hitting out at his team-mates if they don’t fight for the shirt – a characteristic we’ve really missed.
It’s an interesting start of the transfer window because Mourinho and Guardiola will be duking it out for the Manchester glory, Klopp will be building his vision of Liverpool and a little bit of a forgotten team of Chelsea will be back with Conte in charge, who’s domestic record is pretty good. Has this struck Wenger with the fact that things cannot go on like this anymore?
We’ve spend around 30 million for Xhaka, which is the third highest we’ve ever paid for a player! It’s true we are the team that got the most out of TV money this year, but it’s still so unlike Arsene to spend so much on a player that is not proven talent like Ozil and Sanchez. We’ve taken a gamble on a player who is a wildcard – he might be the missing piece of the jigsaw or a spectacular failure.
Is the fact that Arsene is entering the last year of his contract and he has some of the fans turned against him that sparks this transfer and how much more will we do? We cannot settle with just this. Welbeck’s injury means a new striker is badly needed. As another season proved, Walcott and the Ox are not to be trusted for a longer period so a winger would be nice (I’d love Draxler).
I fear that this transfer will be the dust in the eyes of people and we’ll again ignore the real problem. It’s great to do business before the Euros, because prices skyrocket at those tournaments. But have we been linked with anybody else? A striker and a CB are a must and I’m fearing this might be a similar story to Cech last year. We’ve spent 30 million, and at least 60-70 more are needed if we are to have the bodies to put in a serious challenge.
A lot of the Premier League squads need to rebuild. Hopefully we’ll act quickly. Hopefully Arsene has learned a lesson. Give me Mahrez, Draxler a CB and a Striker and I think we’ll have a genuine chance. It’s a good start, but work is still to be done.
Konstantin