Arsenal: Granit Xhaka A “Not So Secret” Destroyer Of Bayern Munich
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal travel to Germany to face Bayern Munich at midweek and few players are more equipped to destroy this fortress than Granit Xhaka.
Arsenal are no strangers to facing Bayern Munich and actually, their recent history should give us cause for optimism. It was just last year that we beat them 2-0 at home in the group stages. And let’s just ignore the reverse fixture for now.
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A bit of knowledge and wherewithal from our stars who know Bayern Munich very well is going to be an incredibly useful tool. Most of the Gunner’s first team has experience by now, as they’ve faced off six times in the past four seasons.
However, Granit Xhaka has even more experience than anyone else, and his experience could transform him into the key member of this Gunner’s team as we travel into the Allianz.
Xhaka captained Monchengladbach through a very successful period – a period where Bayern were nothing more than another opponent. Last year alone, Xhaka captained his side to a 3-1 home win over Bayern and a 1-1 away draw. Just to restate that, that’s four points earned against the best team in Germany.
The year before that was more of the same, as Monchengladbach won 2-0 at the Allianz and on the return home fixture, they drew 0-0.
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So to put that into perspective, Granit Xhaka has not lost to Bayern Munich in two seasons. In those two seasons, he has captained a side that outscored Munich 6-2, including a combined score of 3-1 at the Allianz.
There will be no fear from Xhaka going into this ‘fortress’ and there will certainly be nothing held back. He’s been here, he’s conquered this, and if anyone will know how to keep that two year unbeaten streak going, it will be him. He was the leader and captain through those matches and it clearly worked.
The big question is in what capacity Arsene Wenger will use him. That suspension is just now running up (for Wenger too) and it wouldn’t be the first time that Wenger opted to keep him seated to learn a lesson.
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That would be absolutely foolish. Xhaka hasn’t lost at the Allianz since August 9, 2013. He hasn’t dropped points at all in that span. If Wenger wants to put forth his best possible team to get this round started on the right foot, he needs to start the guy on the team with the best record against the current foe.