Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Hitting Jack Wilshere Territory

Arsenal and Granit Xhaka seem to be hitting inroads over what he should be. Which makes him entering Jack Wilshere territory.

Arsenal definitely have a wealth of talent in the midfield. Even if Arsene Wenger isn’t exactly sure where that wealth should be spent.

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It’s no secret that Granit Xhaka has not been gelling in North London lately. Although I will add that it is of very little fault of his. Le Prof has some bizarre idea of what Xhaka should be and as it is, the Swiss just isn’t living up to what our visionary manager wanted.

So now, he is speaking out about it (Xhaka that is) and he has defended his own actions. Rightly, I may add. His words didn’t ooze irritation or anything, but it was clear that this disciplinary record, which Wenger has been critical of, is a point of pride for Xhaka:

“Yellow cards and red cards are part of what Granit Xhaka is. I’d no longer be the same player without my rigorousness, and certainly not the player Arsenal wanted,” he said, as quoted by ESPNFC.

Well said, Mr. Xhaka. Hopefully Wenger was listening.

This sounds oddly familiar. An immensely talented player is proud of the player he is and doesn’t want to have to alter his play style in order to fit in with a system that should already have the prerequisites to accommodate him.

Think Jack Wilshere.

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Not long ago, Wilshere was tasked with removing the rambunctious style of his play in order to avoid injuries and, again, fit in.

While the injuries do make it a bit of a different situation, the territory is indeed quite similar. Both players saw this trait as part of what made them who they were as a player. To take it out of them was to take themselves out of the game that they played.

It’s hard to say if we can judge how the process went. Wilshere is at Bournemouth and Xhaka is defending his own style. So long as the jury is out, we cannot make a decision, but what we can do is our favorite thing – speculate.

Xhaka’s disciplinary record A) isn’t that bad if you really look at it but B) is exactly what Arsenal needed and he is keenly aware of that fact.

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Let Xhaka be the player he has always been. It’s worked pretty damn well so far and it will continue to work as he masters it.