When Arsene Wenger decided to splash out £35 to sign Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach last summer, several people (fans and pundits) expressed their concerns about the decision.
A series of unimpressive displays at the beginning of the season saw the ‘I told you so’ comments raining in. Pundits compared him with N’golo Kante of Chelsea, who was acquired at the same price, and wondered why Wenger, who is regarded as a shrewd businessman will commit such a blunder.
Truth be told, Xhaka’s performances initially were quite bad and his doubters were justified; his tackling was rash that even his manager, Wenger, referred to one as stupid; his style was over-aggressive; his mobility was far from impressive. In all, Granit Xhaka’s early show for Arsenal was a real struggle.
However, as the season progressed, we started seeing more and more of what the Swiss International could offer. His role became more defined and his understanding of his teammates was evident. His defensive work became more refined, we started seeing less of rash tackles from him(though it did not go away and may likely never go away completely). But he knew when to mark down an opponent and when to leave a teammate at a better position to do the work.
Another aspect of Xhaka’s game that became phenomenal was his first touch. The Arsenal number 29 became an indispensable team-player, traversing the midfield with crisp touches and beautifully laid passes (Oh! How I love those long range passes).
Xhaka’s statistics(as per Premier League) tell the same story of inconsistency. In his time on the pitch, Arsenal won 20 games, drew 5 and lost 7. He scored two goals, both with his left foot. He attempted 34 shots of which 9 were on target, pitching his accuracy at 26%. He completed 2,298 passes, of which 182 were accurate long passes and 14 were through balls. This also means that he has an average of 71.89 passes per match of which 2 were direct assists.
On the defensive line, Xhaka blocked 8 shots, made 38 interceptions, 33 clearances and 19 headed clearances. He also made 215 recoveries, won 148 duels, 19 successful 50/50s, and 33 aerial battles. On the down side, he lost 25 aerial battles and 130 duels. Xhaka also committed 37 fouls, received 5 yellow cards and 2 red cards (a real disciplinary concern).
Though Xhaka still has some way to go in order to justify his big money move to North London, he has shown us a glimpse of what he can achieve. His transfer to Arsenal may not yet be fully appreciated, but there are several positives to take from his brilliant displays in the second half of the season. His partnership with Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil in the midfield was inspiring and we can only hope that he improves.
Next season, with the newly adopted 3-4-3 formation, we hope to see a much improved Granit Xhaka, a much-refined defensive midfielder, an attacking threat to opponents, a great passer of the ball, and a better team player. Hopefully, we will see more of those long range goals and of course, more smiles from his handsome face.
