Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Can Become Renovated Andrea Pirlo

Arsenal’s newest signing, Granit Xhaka, has his first hype, as he was compared to Andrea Pirlo. However, it may not be a such an off-base comparison.

I’m going to begin this article with so many forewords it’s not even funny. First of all, I understand that to compare Granit Xhaka to Andrea Pirlo is a bit haughty. Second of all, I am not saying that he is the same as Pirlo or that he will bring the same skill set.

But I do see some credence in what former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou had to say about his Swiss team mate. Here are his words:

“If I am being honest, there is a little bit of a Pirlo about him, just in terms of the precision that he plays the ball with. Granit can play those types of ball.”

Xhaka has proven himself a great passer. He completed over 70% of his attempted long balls this year. That is very Pirlo-like. However, we all know that no one passes like Pirlo (except Ozil). That’s not why I am calling Xhaka a renovated Andrea Pirlo.

Part of what made Pirlo so perfect was because of the league he played in. Serie A was quite literally built for the maestro. Give him the ball and room to work in front of his own defense and watch him make it rain. He was always able to have those prerequisites in Italy and it aided him in creating his prolific career. I’m not saying he couldn’t have made it in La Liga or Ligue 1, but why would he want to when Serie A was built for him?

That is why I see Xhaka as so similar to Pirlo. Not in that he is the same kind of player, because he isn’t. But in that the league he is now playing in was made for him and his skill set.

You think of some of the best midfielders to pass through the Premier League and names like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerard, Patrick Vieira come to mind. Xhaka has so much of what these guys have. They had precision passing, a rocket shot, fearlessness, defensive abilities and pinpoint passing.

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Xhaka has already shown bits and pieces of all of these things. He has a skill set that was hand-picked for the Premier League, just like Pirlo’s skill set was hand-picked for Serie A. If he can fine-tune these abilities of his like Pirlo did, he can become something great, and he will do it all at Arsenal.

The next question on our minds should be whether or not there would be any reason why he wouldn’t be able to develop into something great at Arsenal. And I really don’t think there is. Arsene Wenger is renowned for this kind of thing. He has been scouting Xhaka for a year, following him and making sure he fits in with what he is trying to do.

He then spent a lot of money on him to ensure that he was able to come into his prime at Arsenal.

Next: 5 Reasons Not To Sell Giroud

It’s not the conventional path that Pirlo took to Serie A invincibility, but that doesn’t mean that Xhaka can’t achieve it to. Arsenal has a tremendous weapon in Xhaka and they know how to use him.

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