Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Damages Golden Boys’ Hopes

Arsenal’s acquisition of Granit Xhaka may call to an end the long-established faith in the two golden boys, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.

There used to be a time where I wanted nothing more than to see a midfield trifecta of Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. My three favorite players at the time and all destined for great things.

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Well, that failed. Arsenal is now looking at a 2016/17 starting XI that includes none of the three. Not even Fabregas (get it?).

With the acquisition of Granit Xhaka, Arsenal’s midfield has gotten a whole lot more complicated, and there are few people that this affects more than the remaining two players of my dream trifecta.

Aaron Ramsey has long established that he doesn’t want to play out wide. That he would rather play centrally. No harm no foul. That’s his choice and after 2013/14, it was easy for him to defend his staunch stance.

However, now that Jack Wilshere has established the same wishes, it may be coming down the nitty-gritty. Here’s what Jacky boy had to say: “With Arsenal I’ve been playing out wide, which is not me. I’m not a wide man, but Roy seems to have faith in me in the middle, so I’m happy with that. I like to play anywhere in the middle.”

Can Arsenal maintain their two golden boys while still improving?

It is a tough question to tackle. Ramsey and Wilshere have been given every chance in the world to succeed, but injuries and inconsistencies have rendered them unreliable. It has also forced Wenger’s hand into making some signings that he probably would never have thought he would have to make.

Mohamed Elneny was the first. A slick, cheap signing from the Swiss Super League, Elneny came with no expectations. He has since established himself as a consistent midfielder that quite literally never loses the ball. If that were his only strength, he would still be a quality midfielder. Conveniently, that is arguably his only strength.

With just Elneny, Wilshere and Ramsey had to be pretty optimistic that given good health and Santi Cazorla’s limited time, they would get back into the flow. But with Granit Xhaka’s acquisition, things change. It almost feels like Wenger is adopting a new prodigal son because his previous two proved too troublesome.

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In an ideal world, these three versatile midfielders could interchange rolls and improve each other. But that’s usually not how it works in the modern game. If Ramsey and Wilshere are continually forced out wide, where they don’t want to play, they will move on. Ramsey before Wilshere, if I had to bet.

Next year is a big year for these two. Ramsey has a major uphill battle to get back into the starting XI in a central roll and Wilshere is no different. However, at least with Wilshere, his chances haven’t been hurt as much by ineffective play. It has been all injuries.

Ramsey has been inconsistent. Blips of brilliance offset by blips of turmoil. For him to beat out Santi Cazorla to get into the starting XI would be quite the coup.

Next: Determining Xhaka's Midfield Partner

I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Wenger to come to terms with signing Xhaka, as he knew what a position it would put Ramsey and Wilshere in at Arsenal. So by that standard, he must be applauded. Now let’s see what happens.