Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Kicking Off New Era

Arsenal’s signing of Granit Xhaka is kind of a big deal. That enigmatic midfield may finally be handed a dose of consistency, kick-starting a new era.

I hope I can be forgiven for talking about Granit Xhaka so much. Having followed the rumor since its inception and fawned over every bit of it, seeing it finally come to fruition is enough to bury my frustrations with Arsenal and turn over a new leaf. This is a new era.

That should not only be my own personal point of view, however. Granit Xhaka is kick-starting a new era at Arsenal, particularly in the midfield that he will (hopefully) be stabilizing.

Arsenal’s midfield had become a cluttered mess the past couple years. Behind Mesut Ozil, there were two spots that were always filled with a random assortment of players. Including, but not limited to Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Jack Wilshere, Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky and Calum Chambers.

You pick one name from that list that has not had serious disappointments or limitations. Santi Cazorla is the closest. The other seven are not reliable, despite what flashes (or seasons) of brilliance they have produced. It was a handful of ‘has beens’ with another handful of ‘could have beens’ and a couple ‘still could be’s’.

But there was no consistency. No stability. There were too many injuries. Not enough reliability.

Arsene Wenger dropped £30m on Granit Xhaka, making him the third biggest transfer in Arsenal history. In the process, Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky moved on and Xhaka was handed the shirt number that is tattooed on his back.

It’s a new era being ushered in by an incredibly promising midfielder whose star is rising quicker than we can keep up with. Xhaka has proven himself in the Bundesliga and internationally. While the Premier League is a whole different ballgame, he has the raw tools to make it work and the opportunity of a lifetime.

There is no mistaking that this is a bold signing, from a loyalty standpoint. With Ramsey, Wilshere, Elneny and Coquelin all 25 years old or younger, purchasing another 23 year old midfielder may be ruffling a few feathers. However, given the basis of internal competition, it has to be met with nothing but applause.

With three aging midfielders making their way out of the club, Wenger could have done his usual thing and allowed his youth products to have first dibs at the spots, then, if they didn’t pan out, scan the European landscape for a suitable replacement before finding none.

But he didn’t. Wenger took the initiative to fix his midfield and, before the window was even close to opening – heck, before the 2015/16 season was even buried – signed a man capable of fixing it all.

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Xhaka brings with him a youthful invigoration where there was once aging midfielders who had never lifted a Premier League title. He brings stability and consistency (and a lack of injuries, knock on wood) to a couple of glass-jawed new team mates. He brings versatility to a pair of one-dimensional counterparts.

Lastly, Xhaka brings leadership to a midfield that has been devoid of such a presence. Having captained Borussia Monchengladbach as well as the Swiss National team, he is well ahead of the traditional 23 year old midfielder. Cazorla and Arteta have both captained, but Cazorla was an afterthought and Arteta was never on the pitch. Aaron Ramsey captained Wales, but that was short-lived and never translated to Arsenal.

Xhaka brings leadership onto the pitch. Go back to Cesc Fabregas and then on to Patrick Vieira to find the last couple times that has happened. It shouldn’t be as rare as Arsenal makes it.

I’m not trying to over-hype this and set it up for failure. But it’s hard not to put all the parallels together. Wenger did not have to sign Xhaka. He has four guys that fill out those two holding roles and more coming up the pipeline. But he did. Meaning that he was not satisfied with what his current crop brought to the table.

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Wenger does not idly sign players. He signs them with a purpose. Xhaka’s purpose is to revamp a decaying midfield.

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