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Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Can Be Defiant In His Success
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal has found consistency in yet another star, Granit Xhaka. Although, they haven’t necessarily found it so much as they are finally using it.
Arsenal‘s for against Stoke City is being rather harshly analyzed, as many are saying the Gunners played below par, yet still came away with three points. As my adverb usage eludes to, I find that harsh, as there were not that many real threats for the Gunners to deal with.
Related: 5 Things We Learned Against Stoke
Granit Xhaka’s only mistake in surrendering the penalty came in underestimated how short Joe Allen actually was. It was a casual box-out move and hardly a penalty. That is, if Joe Allen was any bit taller.
Still, the Swiss had another fantastic day, creating chances, picking out passing lanes and never ever being a liability. You know it’s good when Francis Coquelin is looking like the weaker link in the two man chain.
Granit Xhaka has slid into this midfield captaincy role and made it his own. His consistency is so beautifully welcome and I really can’t say enough about just how steady he really is. In his last three matches, he has surrendered the ball just twice.
He gave it up zero times against Stoke.
That’s pretty cool for a side that was ‘below par’ as some are saying, because Xhaka certainly wasn’t (and I’d be curious to hear who was).
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It may be tempting for Arsene Wenger to think “yes, this lesson teaching of Granit Xhaka has really learned him good. Look at what I have done.”
But for as much as I give Wenger credit for his mental games, I can’t give him an ounce of credit here. This is how Xhaka has been for us any time he has been given the chance. The fact that he is steadily improving is just evidence of the fact that we should have been doing this much sooner and reaping the rewards earlier in the season.
Granit Xhaka deserves all the credit for what he is right now, because in case you hadn’t noticed, not much, if anything, has changed. Perhaps he’s a bit more up to speed with the English game, but that is a byproduct of time and experience.
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If asked again what has changed for Xhaka to make him such a steady force, I hope he takes a stance and says “nothing, I’m just being given the chance now.” Because that is absolutely the truth.