Arsenal: Granit Xhaka Still Has A Bright Future

Granit Xhaka has already been sent off three times. However, he still has the technical, physical and mental abilities to have a prosperous Arsenal career.

There have been many conclusions drawn from Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Burnley. The defensive display with both Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi returning to top form, Arsene Wenger losing his head and pushing the fourth official and the two late penalty decisions were some of the prevalent storylines in the aftermath.

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However, perhaps none were as significant as the persistent discipline struggles of Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international lunged in, foolishly with the game wholly under control midway through the second half, caught Steven Defour and saw red for the third time this season.

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It was a major blot on what was, up until that point, a highly encouraging performance. Nonetheless, it is difficult to see past the sending off, especially given his record throughout his career thus far. After the game, Wenger expressed his own frustrations with Xhaka and the frail situation that he left his teammates in:

"“Xhaka’s red card? Honestly, I have to look at it again. The noises I get is that it was a red card and he has to control his game and not punish the team with a lack of control in his tackling. We don’t encourage our midfielders to go down on tackles, we want them to stand up and not to make these kinds of fouls. If it’s a bad tackle, it’s a red card. I’m disappointed that we played with 10 men.”"

I was especially harsh when publishing the Pain in the Arsenal player ratings, irate with Xhaka for his stupidity given the comfortable position that he and his side were in before his careless decision making rose to the fore. But he still has the technical, physical and mental attributes to develop into an established member of the Arsenal squad.

On Sunday, Xhaka displayed all of these skills. He was strong in the tackle, adept with his positioning, making two interceptions and showcased a lovely range of passing, both short and long, often looking to move the attack forwards with accuracy and at tempo.

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Xhaka should be heavily criticised for his issues with his tackling. The red cards are a problem, as were the two penalties conceded against Stoke City and Bournemouth. Nonetheless, he has shown on numerous occasions that he is talented, is only growing in his experience and still has a bright future ahead of him.