Arsenal Have Nothing To Offer Granit Xhaka

Arsenal have long been linked with Swiss international Granit Xhaka but after his terms have been revealed, is Arsenal his best course of action?

Arsenal recently added Mohamed Elneny to their midfield arsenal and while he has yet to prove anything in this brand new environment, he has caused all other transfer links to dry up. Wenger is a self-proclaimed purveyor of rare talents but apparently Granit Xhaka, Lars Bender and Grzegorz Krychowiak are not rare talents. Or perhaps they’re just too expensive.

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Or, let’s even consider that maybe Arsenal no longer have a spot for such players.

Everyone wants an upgrade at all times. Of all the superb talent on Arsenal’s squad, only Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech have not been associated with finding a replacement. And that’s because they were replacements.

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Anyone else, though, could use an upgrade. Olivier Giroud? Try Edinson Cavani. It’s part of the whole, ‘not wanting to be complacent’ thing.

Upgrades aren’t always needed, however. Giroud has become such a key piece of this attack that if Arsenal were to upgrade to someone else, which they won’t, it would have to be for someone that has the same style of play. And finding someone identical, yet better than Giroud is impossible.

Francis Coquelin is one guy that is also not wanting of an upgrade too often. Some clamor that a better offensive threat is needed, but defensively, you will find few better. It is for that reason that Wenger opted to sign Mohamed Elneny instead of one of those big name defensive midfielders out there. While having another defensive midfielder would bolster this team to no end, it would leave someone frustrated and out of a job.

Plus, no one wants to join a new club to be someone else’s back up. Shocking right?

By that token, Granit Xhaka and Arsenal may just be destined to be apart. Xhaka outlined his requirements for a club in a recent interview and it was pretty clear what he was looking for. “Gladbach are a top club. But if I were someday to go to a top, top, top club, I want to play there. I’m not the type to be on the bench,” he said, as quoted by the Express. 

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As if it needed to be stated, Xhaka is not going to come to Arsenal to watch his new team mates win the league. He is going to want to be a part of it, if he were to come. That would mean supplanting Aaron Ramsey or Francis Coquelin.

You will not find two players more in Arsene Wenger’s favor than those two. Xhaka would be just as likely to become a striker and unseat Giroud. At least then he would have time on his side.

Wenger is not going to replace Coquelin with an outside signing. He is going to provide competition for him. That is what Elneny is. Again, it is the whole ‘competition vs replacement’ argument. Wenger has a mantra of being a faithful manager and one that will not replace without just cause. It is what makes Arsenal so special. So few teams do it this way anymore.

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While it might have been nice to see Xhaka holding up an Arsenal kit at a photo shoot, the events to follow would be a bit dicey. Someone would be out a job and someone would not be thrilled about it.