Over the weekend, there were speculations that Granit Xhaka was on his way out of Arsenal. Mikel Arteta is keen to make some changes to his squad and, as such, has reportedly put some players up for sale. Granit Xhaka was mentioned as one of these players.
Contrary to reports that Xhaka will leave, Football Transfer’s Steve Kay says that Xhaka will categorically stay. The publication claims the midfielder is considered “untouchable” by Mikel Arteta. In fact, with his contract expiring in 2024, the report adds that he could be offered a new deal before next season. The Spaniard still feels the Swiss international is a vital part of his project and thus wouldn’t let him go. And I doubt even the Gunner would want to go considering he once said he would be ready to fight for Arteta, saying, “There was one guy, his name is Mikel Arteta, I will always support him, it doesn’t matter what happens.”
Xhaka has been brilliant this season. His five goals and five assists in 32 games make the 2022–23 season one of his most productive in an Arsenal shirt. Even so, the belief has been that any top midfielder joining in the summer would probably replace Xhaka in Arsenal’s starting lineup.
Arsenal is rumoured to be keen on bringing on board some of the top midfielders Europe offers. Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo, and Mohammed Kudus are reinforcements Arteta is said to be eyeing.
So with Xhaka staying, what plans does Arteta have for his midfield?
Does the 30-year-old keep his starting spot in Arsenal’s best lineup for the 2023–24 season?
Sam P
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If we sign a new young CM, he may have to become a squad rotation player at the beginning of next season. Patino will leave and perhaps Sambi-Lokonga too, so maybe Arsenal will keep Xhaka until 2025
If Xhaka and Vieira stay, I’m afraid Smith-Rowe will look for a new club. We’ve still got Trossard and maybe Nelson to rotate with Xhaka
Vieira and lokonga have to go not good enough for Arsenal time to bring in real quality now got champions league football next season!
Vieira is having his first season in England. Remember that Xhaka required several seasons, before Arteta found his best role
In my opinion, Sambi-Lokonga played decently in Xhaka’s position
You’re thinking this way and you want Arsenal to compete favorably with Man City.
Oh please 🙄
We need to allocate the funds for someone who can win the ball in our front-line, not for buying another CM since we’ve got plenty of them
I love Xhaka, it’s so saddening the treatment he got from fans over the years but I love the fact, he had proved everyone wrong this season……I only wish he wins the epl this season cos he has worked and suffered so much for arsenal.
We need him, his presence and leadership, who else noticed this season he had amassed 0 red card.
“…he has worked and suffered so much for arsenal.”
Oh…Michael Leashim
If you calculate how much he earns every week and how he has become one of the richest people on the planet, you wouldn’t say he has suffered
HA! Yeah, “suffered” and “for Arsenal” should never appear together in the same sentence. I know what he means though, as Granit has taken plenty of hits from the fans during his time here, but seems to be our superhero now. All the same, I’d say he’s still going to be a valuable squad member, even with the touted arrivals as mentioned on Just Arsenal and elsewhere. And he was a far better club captain than any since his meltdown.
I get the impression all famous people get some form of “abuse” online – comes with the territory really. I know there are times when it peaks but it seems like many only raise it as a problem when there’s something to gain.
If someone is playing badly, it’s a good distraction to say you’re suffering abuse – this might not be intentional in many cases. The words might hit a bit harder when you’re already down, and it’s easy to shift focus. When things are going well, it’s easier to ignore, I’m sure.
Anyway, I’m a bit surprised by arteta’s stance, it’s clearly showing favoritism, which i don’t think is very for the club culture – although I suppose he’d argue that xhaka is a model professional and example of how he wants his players to be.
Nothing against xhaka, he’s really turned me and a lot of others this season, but now we’re at the crunch point it’s clear he’s one who could be improved upon (not that he’s been the worst, he just hasn’t turned up when it counted) – we should look up find a competitor for his position imo, but he’s a good player who can still play a major role next season.
Tactically, against Man City in particular, Arteta ought to have used Xhaka and Partey as a dual pivot role in front of a back four which should have included Tierney at LB.Little wonder we were outplayed and that little was seen of Xhaka in his more attacking role.He and Odegaard for that matter simply do not have the pace and drive to compete with the physically imposing midfield which Pep is currently using.Basically, we were overpowered.By all means keep Xhaka for next season which will be hugely demanding, but like every other member of our squad, he has to play well to retain his position.This season Arteta has stuck to certain players when they have clearly needed a rest , and while the injuries to Tomi, Saliba have proved costly and untimely he really needs to manage his resources better next season.
@ Grandad
Agree with you. You and I think alike.
I am sure we would be called the official haters of MA and the most negative of our fan base even though it would be so far from the truth.
Problem is, the players outside the preferred 12-13 players, aren’t up to the same standard.
In Europa League games and in the Carabao Cup, players outside the preferred 12-3 had plenty of chances, but every single time we used a “mixed” starting 11, the performance level dropped significantly.
We would never have gotten the lead in the PL, we had, if we had played with more rotation in the PL.
Gd, I don’t think Arteta trusts certain players. Understandable, to a degree. Also I wonder if the brilliant Trossard is suffering from “last man in” syndrome, in that Arteta is being faithful to the guys who have been there from the start of the season. I was never a Jorginho fan prior to him coming to us, but the goal he scored at Villa helped me re-assess him. I didn’t think him capable of scoring a goal like that.
AndersS, are you suggesting Tierney is below the standard we require or is he the victim of a tactical decision which has been blown out of the water by teams of the calibre of Bournemouth and Southampton?We’re Veiria and Kwior not signed with the blessing of our Manager?
I like Xhaka in terms of the professionalism and effort he puts in. But he is not the right fit for the box to box midfielder. We need a more mobile one. In fact I would prefer him being used @ LB than OZ as he has a positional sense despite the lack of speed and then push OZ to midfield that is of course assuming KT is leaving for Newcastle.
As for Kiwior, it is a strange January signing as you need instant impact players whilst bring in players in that month.
Xhakas improved a lot this season, and the manager can probably take a lot of credit for that. Yes, he’s still blown up when we could least afford it, but he can point to several top notch displays to easily counter that. In the past fans have been on his case, quite justifiably, as he’s done really stupid things at really stupid times, and done it far too often.
But that was then, and this is now.
Realistically we can’t afford to let him go unless we bring in some top notch defensive midfield players to compete for his place. Even then, it would nice to have the luxury of having him as cover.