Granit Xhaka has had his ups and downs with theArsenal fans, to say the least, but he has always had the respect of his peers in the dressing room, which is why he was voted to be the captain by his team-mates when Unai Emery took over as coach.
He was deposed from that position by Emery after his altercation with Arsenal fans, and it looked like he was set to leave the Emirates until Arteta took over and persuaded him that he still had an important role to play.
And, to be fair, even the fans seem to have relented from their criticism and he is mostly appreciated for his contributions on the pitch. And now he has even been happy to play out of position in defence and has played very well indeed. He has replaced Kieran Tierney at left back against Sheffield United and against last night, and both have ended with clean sheets, which we haven’t seen for quite a long time.
As Xhaka said after the game last night, he will play anywhere as long as we win! “If we win the Europa League like this, I don’t care which position I play!” he told Arsenal.com.
“If I have to help the team there, I have to help. I’m the guy who will do everything for the team. Of course, everyone knows it’s not my regular position but with the team-mates, they help me and coach me as well, in front and behind. I’m so happy I helped the team in this position as well. I try my best and in the last two games it was a good performance.
“We had a very good game,” he added. “The game plan that the boss gave us was excellent and we showed a big game today. I think we deserved to go through after the two games.
“The character of the team was excellent. To win here 4-0 is not easy but like I said before, we showed over 90 minutes a great performance.”
So how are fans’ peception of Xhaka nowadays? Do you think that he could even be reinstated as captain now? Or do you still think he should be sold this summer?
Been our most consistent midfielder including Partey, always gives 110%. We look poor without his distribution and his calming presence in the midfield. He can play as a cm cb and lb but because people prefer Willock and Niles because they can run fast.
Agree with your general point Liam, that’s your opinion and you state it very well.
“people prefer Willock and Niles because they can run fast” – put an Arsenal shirt on a couple of greyhounds then, they can run fast but aren’t good enough to play for Arsenal F. C.
Also, neither can do the professional job Xhaka does for the team, as requested by his manager.
Although against two very poor teams who offered virtually no threat whatsoever, Xhaka nether the less did a great job at L/B and showed a fantastic attitude.
That not getting into a debate on whether I rate Granit or not, but in comparison the the two other players mentioned – not at the same level of ability and professionalism I’m afraid.
If only he would move the ball quicker in transition.
Anti Xhaka incoming – just my opinion folks.
Xhaka has been a mainstay for three managers. He is not fast, can be cumbersome, but he gives it all always. Enough said.
True
Xhaka attitude and mentality has never been in question. He always give 100% but sometimes it’s just not enough
Without Xhaka Arenal looks lost. Simply he is your spark for difenc, midfield and creator for offense. One old expression is like this : stay bent and talk straight. It is better to have one intelligent player than one fast player with no creativity .
He should be restored, you can check anytime he is not on field we usually loose. He will not lack buyers any team and anywhere
He should be our captain again, he always serves as th role model of the team.
Granit is so grate and Wonderful player, we are happy to have him as a gunner. Well done gunners, go for the trophy go! go! go! gun them all.
Anyone who tries to use the past two games as the reason why Xhaka should remain at the club, let alone being reinstated as captain, is as short-sighted as our manager was when he decided to sign Willian and retool instead of doing the RIGHT thing…of course, nowadays Arteta’s all about the youth movement, but that makes perfect sense in light of his earlier failures
please remind me how many times in the past two matches when you saw the opposition even test him with long passes, speed on the wings and/or overlapping runs…in fact in the Sheffield match the commentators were completely miffed that United hadn’t even tested him once and were sure that we would see them make a push up their right flanks come the second half, which simply never materialized…once again in the game last evening, no real push on his side…both managers should be terminated for this alone, but I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth…that said, no club worth a lick would do likewise, especially considering his lack of pace and/or his propensity to grab players when they get beyond him
furthermore, several people are praising him for taking on the responsibilities of a “new” position, which to be honest is a bit rich…as a pivot in our base formation, he was constantly rotating into a deeper, wider sitting pseudo-LB position, especially when Tierney was bombing up the wings…so let’s make sure we look at the real facts and think reasonably about the future of this club…this constant game of what have you done for me lately has poisoned our club for far too long…it’s high time that we let common sense prevail and simply move on from any player who has no chance of taking us forward, especially if we can recoup some much-needed funds from their respective transfers elsewhere
Thank you!
The question is can Arsenal afford an upgrade on Xhaka?
His range of passing actually looks more useful from left back as he has less pressure and a bit more space in front of him so he can use it to switch the play or play balls down the line very effectively. For me the reason some fans think that he played sideways our backwards in midfield is because against teams defending deep he had few options and little time to pick out a pass. Of course he hasn’t really faced strong opposition in this role and you would certainly worry how he might fair against quicker wingers, but he’s been doing solid job so far.
He has a passion and leadership qualities to be a captain
No he doesn’t, he failed once and he has form. He isnt upto standard.
Oh, one average game against a league two level team, and Xhaka becomes the man mountain again? The player had a decent game because the ball seldom crossed the half way line. He has failed miserably against real EPL competition, right from Man City to the Burnleys and Brightons. Wenger hired him, so he was compelled to use him, Unai wanted Steven NZonzi but did not get him, so out of compulsion he was being used. Mikel has to use him as there is no alternative. Would he walk into City or Pool’s line up? Would ne walk into the Invincibles? Would not make it to the bench either.
Depends on one’s expectation – either choose a proven performer/winner or an average dude, it’s each one’s choice and I respect that.
LC, OR, TO PUT IT IN PLAIN ENGLISH I SUSPECT YOU AGREE WITH ME THAT Xhaka is total rubbish and we only play him as there is no one else in his positionwith any power and strength. Partey is not in the same position and PARTEY CAN play football.
You guys should watch the open mic vs Sheffield game.. The man is in control, I mean what a player we have showing others the way! I think Xhaka is the most favourable player at Arsenal for Captaincy…
Jurgen Klinsmann one time has stated. In order to win the world cup, you need 11 great players. I say if Arenal gets 11 players at level of Xhaka you are well oilet machine.
P.S. some Arsenal fans don’t understand soccer, thay have test only for food.