Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Arrival A Mixed Bag For Loanees

The arrival of Granit Xhaka is set to have different implications for returning loanees Jon Toral and Isaac Hayden. How will everyone fit in at Arsenal?

It’s safe to say that Grant Xhaka’s arrival at Arsenal for a fee of around £30m has been the highlight of Arsenal’s summer activity so far (especially considering Vardy’s recent snub). But what will his entrance into the squad mean for two of Arsenal’s prominent returning midfield loanees: Jon Toral and Isaac Hayden?

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Having been loaned out to Birmingham and Hull City respectively, the pair have had contrasting seasons. While Toral conquered all before him by winning Birmingham’s player and goal of the season awards, Hayden had more of a testing time. Regular minutes were tough to come by under Steve Bruce (especially in his favoured defensive midfield role). This has formed the basis of my argument that Xhaka wearing Arsenal’s colours next season will affect these two youngsters very differently.

With Toral having had two stellar loans over the past two years (his loan at Bradford preceding that at Birmingham City), surely Wenger will be giving him a shot at Arsenal’s first team picture (preseason will be critical for the Spaniard to ensure such). Even the arrival of Xhaka will not be able to change this.

Although Toral can play one of the two holding roles in Wenger’s favoured 4-2-3-1 system, the fact that he can also play any of the three positions behind the striker means Xhaka’s presence in the eleven shouldn’t really hamper the mercurial Spaniard’s opportunities for first team minutes.

One of our co-editors here at Pain In The Arsenal, Josh Sippie, even stated that given Cazorla’s age, Wilshere’s enigmacity and ‘crockedness’ and Ramsey’s inconsistency, Toral could even snap up the midfield position next to Xhaka come next season. All in all, Toral will not be harmed by the arrival of ‘The Swiss Army Knife’ (this remains my favourite nickname to date).

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However, the same cannot be said for fellow midfielder Isaac Hayden. Not only did Hayden not develop as hoped for during his time at Hull City, he has now been usurped by Elneny, Coquelin, Xhaka (and maybe even Bielik) for the defensive midfield role at the Emirates. This makes the path to the starting eleven very complicated for young Isaac and with Xhaka almost certain to start most games, the tough tackling youngster may have to look elsewhere for first team action.

With Newcastle and QPR said to be interested, it would be wise to let go of Hayden and release the valve slightly of Arsenal’s highly congested midfield. The arrival of another centre back (fingers crossed) will certainly spell the end of Hayden’s slim hopes of first team action given his ability to slot in at the back when needed.

To conclude, while Xhaka’s arrival may not hurt the first team chances of Toral, it surely does hurt those of Hayden and this is likely to see him being moved on.

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What are your thought Gooners? How do you think our midfield loanees will be affected by the arrival of Granit Xhaka?