Granit Xhaka

[Salibatelli]

Xhaka has zero leadership ability, his passing isn’t very good as mentioned most of his passes are sideways, he’s actually a very negative player.

Remember him being highlighted for shying away from the ball, the guy was actually trying not to get the ball, it was all very embarrassing and showed he has no leadership ability whatsoever, leaders don’t run scared of getting the ball!

The stat about not losing is basically course coincidence, it has nothing to do with him, in fact most of the time he costs us goals, it’s only because of his teammates we haven’t lost more with him in the team.

I agree with others, the only half decent thing about him is his shot, but he gets forward so infrequently that he only gets about 2 goals a season.

Torreira at least can tackle and has energy which already makes him a better DM than Xhaka who can neither tackle nor read the game, on top of that he’s as slow as a snail. Torreira never gets a decent run in the team either unlike Xhaka, so we’ve never been able to see what he can really do.

Awful footballer that illustrates just how far Arsenal have fallen, Arteta should be embarrassed about making him a regular and the fact he gave him the captain ma armband the other day it a joke and an insult to the fans after what happened to be honest.

[Nuggets]

Xhaka has zero leadership ability, his passing isn’t very good as mentioned most of his passes are sideways, he’s actually a very negative player.

Remember him being highlighted for shying away from the ball, the guy was actually trying not to get the ball, it was all very embarrassing and showed he has no leadership ability whatsoever, leaders don’t run scared of getting the ball!

The stat about not losing is basically course coincidence, it has nothing to do with him, in fact most of the time he costs us goals, it’s only because of his teammates we haven’t lost more with him in the team.

I agree with others, the only half decent thing about him is his shot, but he gets forward so infrequently that he only gets about 2 goals a season.

Torreira at least can tackle and has energy which already makes him a better DM than Xhaka who can neither tackle nor read the game, on top of that he’s as slow as a snail. Torreira never gets a decent run in the team either unlike Xhaka, so we’ve never been able to see what he can really do.

Awful footballer that illustrates just how far Arsenal have fallen, Arteta should be embarrassed about making him a regular and the fact he gave him the captain ma armband the other day it a joke and an insult to the fans after what happened to be honest.

At the minute the whole fooking club is a joke.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

Xhaka will be the first name on the team sheet next season, despite not being able to adapt his style of play since 2016. We just need to deal with it.

[swipe right]

Guendozi and Torreira making Xhaka look like a top player. Just sad.

[Angelito]

Xhaka is a weird case, tbh.

He has all the attributes to become a top player. But it never happened. He'd have killed it in Serie A, I feel.

He wasn't even a starter when he came here despite us spending £30m for him. Cazorla was. Then, the injury happened and Wenger had to change our formation to 3-4-3 to accommodate him.

Since then, we have been building sides around him, and that has hurt our style and especially someone like Ozil. Not making excuses for Ozil before people start getting ideas but a CAM cannot thrive in a slow-paced, lethargic style without a CM who is capable of recycling the ball and creating chances.

Our style of play is distinctly a reflection of Xhaka as a player.

Weird af.

[Phil71]

He's a distinctly unintelligent player. That is his number one failing.

He does everything wrong.

[theHotHead]

You are a good poster HH but we gotta disagree here

I dont even like the brother Xhaka. The issue is he is our best DM we have by a country mile. It’s not even close. We lose more than we win when Xhaka is out of the team. Look at the stats. But everyone on here think people Guendouzi and are Torreira better .

He is a better option than Guendouz because he covers the defenders better and distributes the ball better as well.


Xhaka has a better work-rate than Guendouzi and keeps the ball moving, which is what's required for the midfield. Guendouzi has talent and flair no doubt, but he doesn't pass the ball ahead and make enough key passes that lead to chances like Xhaka does.

Also I’m curious to see why everyone on here still rates Torreira.

Not mobile enough, weak on the ball, can’t get around and put in enough tackles and too lightweight. Also has a bad habit of pushing too far forward and leaving us exposed. Very average in my opinion.

Our midfield deadd tbf only positive about the other mids(Willock etc) is they’re young apart from xhaka that’s it

Messiah, lets look at what you wrote. Xhaka is our best DM by a country mile. How ? He has no pace to get around the midfield, he is not a good defender, he is too slow to make interceptions, his reading of the play is nothing special. All of the above are perhaps bar the pace are key attributes for being a good DM. Torreira does have those attributes.

If we win more with Xhaka in than out of the team it is NOT because of his defensive abilities which are frankly 2 out 10. where Xhaka is better than Torreira and Guendouzi is his distribution. Xhaka is a CM, he is not a holding midfielder or a DM - which is exactly what Torreira is. Guendouzi's best attributes are he is a box to box midfielder and has the energy to do it, he is still raw and so needs to improve offensively and defensively. But what you are doing is comparing a CM with a DM and a box to box CM, 3 different roles. Xhaka has his attributes but none of them are playing as a DM.

[Santi]

Our entire midfield is awfully unbalanced.

Xhaka - no pace, can't run, can't tackle, makes errors but is our best CM passer and shows for the ball. Strongest of the lot.
Guendouzi - poor positional sense, weak tackling but has more energy, gets up and down the pitch and actually drives us forward. Weak though.
Torreira - not super quick but better positional sense than the other two to make up for it. Passing is average, tackling decent but also weak and can't stay fit.
Willock - basically a CAM, also weak, loses the ball and his passing is erratic at best. Energy and fairly pacey means he can get up and down and involved with counter attacks (which he often ruins).

So how do you pick two from the above? Xhaka-Guendouzi is the only pairing that can even half work but then you've got two CM's that can't tackle and rely on Xhaka to actually release the ball since Guen doesn't. Torreira and anyone but Xhaka is too weak.

Easy to see why managers keep playing Xhaka based on who we've got at the moment. I'd buy two new players and have Guendouzi as a backup.

[elkanofan]

Xhaka is a weird case, tbh.

He has all the attributes to become a top player. But it never happened. He'd have killed it in Serie A, I feel.

Our style of play is distinctly a reflection of Xhaka as a player.

Weird af.

True. Honestly i reckon we could get £40 mil from Lazio/Inter/Roma etc.. for him even now if we did sell him.

I can seen Conte adopting him as his son.

Our entire midfield is awfully unbalanced.

Xhaka - no pace, can't run, can't tackle, makes errors but is our best CM passer and shows for the ball. Strongest of the lot.
Guendouzi - poor positional sense, weak tackling but has more energy, gets up and down the pitch and actually drives us forward. Weak though.
Torreira - not super quick but better positional sense than the other two to make up for it. Passing is average, tackling decent but also weak and can't stay fit.
Willock - basically a CAM, also weak, loses the ball and his passing is erratic at best. Energy and fairly pacey means he can get up and down and involved with counter attacks (which he often ruins).

So how do you pick two from the above? Xhaka-Guendouzi is the only pairing that can even half work but then you've got two CM's that can't tackle and rely on Xhaka to actually release the ball since Guen doesn't. Torreira and anyone but Xhaka is too weak.

Easy to see why managers keep playing Xhaka based on who we've got at the moment. I'd buy two new players and have Guendouzi as a backup.

Excellent analysis.

[thebigbangtheo]

Oh, it would appear that maybe credit isn't given where credit is due, but I for one thought that his performance was pretty much along the lines of what he gets criticised for not doing enough of.

[Losmeister]

he's reduced his errors of late...

his best stretch at afc so far....

[alexafc12]

Interesting interview from our captain.

asked if he feared he had played his last game for Arsenal, he said:

“Of course, I don’t lie. There was a moment, because it was not easy for me and my family. I hope people understand this."

“But I think I showed my character. I am not a guy who runs away. I always say to the club, ‘When I [am] here, I am ready to give everything’. It was like this always. I train very hard and that things turned around is the key. This [has given me] the most happiness.”

“I know with or without the armband what I can give the team,” he said. “But in this moment [against Palace] I don’t want to take the armband back, but Sokratis [Papastathopoulos] and David [Luiz] told me I have to take it. If one day the club asks me about the armband, I have to think twice.”

“I had not so good a time when I was in Germany (with Borussia Monchengladbach) for the first six months because I didn’t play, but this one was something else,” said Xhaka. “This one was not about a player, this was more about a human.

“But I want to think about the future. I know we can have a big future with Mikel, with this club and that is why I am very happy.”

“I think this is the biggest difference [between] Germany and England, because [here] we don’t have the [close] connection with the fans. In Germany for example, you have open training sessions, [where] the fans come and [talk to you], ask you why."

“Here, everything is closed. So, for me, it would be good this time to explain to the people what is not going good or bad. But it doesn’t matter now. Now we have to enjoy, that’s the most ­important [thing].”

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/footba ... 1582539484

[Angelito]

Really wish we sold him.

His arrival has coincided with our downfall. Haven't made it into the UCL since he signed.

For the famed leadership qualities he has, we have looked lost and confused ever since he's become a mainstay.

And now we play a style that suits him. Not Auba, not Ozil. But a style that is tailor-made for him.

Ugh.

[jayramfootball]

Can't believe some Arsenal fans are actually suggesting we keep him.
Forget his antics, the mentality of keeping players that have shown time and time again that they will make clown-like errors at crucial moments is asinine.
It's like a person with an abusive partner claiming they've changed and won't be abusive anymore. Delusional.

[alexafc12]

CAPTAIN.