Goonersworld

gooney wrote:I hope he gets injured. Only way he will be dropped. Utter trash player

From this season

Not his biggest fan to put it lightly, but credit where it is due. Big performance from him today.

Screw it, put Xhaka at CB for a few games and see how he does. Actually looked alright there today.

Think people are forgetting we tried it before in a back 5 and he was crap

Santi wrote:Think people are forgetting we tried it before in a back 5 and he was crap

Yep he is no CB.

All he did today was fill in and help out, which is commendable and what was needed but we saw nothing of all the usual stuff CB's have to be able to do like mark players, shadow them around the box, last minute tackles etc etc.

I was watching Xhaka and he was basically just marshalling his area trying not to put a foot wrong, it wasn't a commanding CB's performance.

As I may have mentioned before, when he was in Germany he wasn't a DM but played alongside one to provide those pass master/playmaker from deep elements at the base of the midfield, with the primary defensive and ball winning /'if your names not on the list your not coming in' bouncer role being that of his partner.

Now that a few more people have relented and to a degree acknowledged that a half decent player does indeed lurk within him like a version of the Hulk/Bruce Banner, does anyone else think that if he is to be retained beyond this season, it might be more productive to play him further forward in the no.10 role as an alternative option to Ozil?

Some of the best play that I've seen from him has come when in midfield for Switzerland when he seems to be deployed a bit closer to the attacking third of the pitch as opposed to the defensive third.

We know he possess the passing ability to do the role and as a by product might get to see 2/3 thundering shots from him each game, not to mention that on the occasions when he does lose the ball it will be a hell of a lot nearer to their goal than ours, plus he could probably rob the ball back once or twice when the opposition are playing out from the back.

With an actual/real/proper/genuine/bonafide defensive midfield partner alongside Torreira and Xhaka in said role, would we finally have a midfield of some substance again, one where the likes of Guendouzi can come in, get some minutes/odd game so that his talent gets the nurturing and support it needs instead of being over exposed and burnt out like the way we were going before Arteta.

No the guy has no future here, not good enough if we want to progress, if we don't then by all means let's stick with him and carry on our journey to midtable mediocrity.

Özim wrote:No the guy has no future here, not good enough if we want to progress, if we don't then by all means let's stick with him and carry on our journey to midtable mediocrity.

and now with mustafi being kept, that path is gonna continue. haven't been top 4 since signing these two mediocre players. shelled out some serious money for them too.

This guy has been phenomenal lately

Jedi wrote:This guy has been phenomenal lately

I dislike Xhaka quite a bit but I don't give in to agenda's, yes, he has def improved.

............. to be fair the club and him were acting like the fans wanted too much or something? all we wanted was decent performances ffs.

You can't play sh*t every week and expect the fans to give you a pass.

I'm warming to Xhaka, hes been big time improved since Arteta took over, time will tell if it lasts.

Still a w***er

Shit being better than shit is still shit.

Ach wrote:Shit being better than shit is still shit.

and people being satisfied with shit

Nobody is satisfied, its just simply people stating that he has played better. That's all kids, simmer down.