Mess wrote:thebigbangtheo wrote:That game against England was a perfect illustration of the enigma that is Granit Xhaka and finally confirmed that those of us who saw him play some great football for Monchengladbach hadn't just imagined it.
Especially in the first half he was easily the best midfield player on the pitch in my opinion. As has been recognised by the few, he is not a defensive midfielder per se just because he operates from that area of the park but more of a quarter back type. With other midfielder's to carry the bulk of the defensive responsibility along with having defenders worthy of the name behind him, he had the time and space to dictate the play like a midfield general and pinged some excellent balls forward. For those old enough to remember, he reminded me very much of Butch Wilkins, particularly when he was at AC Milan and Rangers.
Unfortunately for the Swiss, that we have now had a glimpse of the potential that is the Guendouzi -Torreira axis for the base of our midfield, not many will see any logic in disrupting that for the sake of shoehorning Xhaka in for one of them instead just so we can once again see some passes that rekindle fond memories of Santi Cazorla.
If anything I hope that performance acts as a catalyst in ending the slump in form and confidence he's endured so that he can at least be a viable option again and quieten down some of the vitriol he receives.
I didn't watch that game. I'm curious to know: What did he do that was SO MUCH better than when he plays for Arsenal?
Put simply, he was effective.
I'm not for one moment suggesting that he suddenly looked like a Luca Modric or David Silva beating 2 or 3 players and carrying the ball 30-40 metres, or even that he played an absolute blinder, just that he looked like a proper midfielder who knew what his job was, did it reasonably well and didn't look like someone had tied his boot laces together or treat the ball like he'd received it from some Russian guy living in Salisbury.
I can't really elaborate much more without effectively repeating what I said in my initial post.