Arsenal: Granit Xhaka’s Valiant Honesty Will Get Him Nowhere

Arsenal supporters have been unduly harsh on Granit Xhaka, but that’s to be expected. And it most certainly won’t let up just because of his honest admission.

Arsenal supporters expect the very best at all times and they have every right to. This is one of the most successful clubs in all of footballing history and we don’t want to see the squad go the way of Liverpool and disappear from relevance for decades.

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Even now, that’s way too close to happening.

So when new signings come in and they aren’t everything that they were supposed to be, or expected to be, or dreamed to be, there are going to be questions asked. There are also going to be obnoxious calls for immediate sales.

Granit Xhaka has been at the pinnacle of that welcoming committee.

After being heralded as the long-lost fix to Patrick Vieira‘s absence, it quickly became evident that aside from their temper and their fierce longshot, the two were not all that similar. And then the fouls started pouring in (some of which were a bit harsh) and suddenly, the questions followed.

People wanted to know why Xhaka was the worst tackler ever. They wanted to know why he was so slow, why he wasn’t a defensive midfielder and what exactly he was supposed to do.

Only recently have some supporters started to see his use as a distributor of the same ilk as Xabi Alonso. But there is still a long way to go, which is not going to be something fans want to hear. What also isn’t going to be something they want to hear is Xhaka’s latest admission.

"You always need a certain amount of time to fully adjust, it was no different when I moved to the Bundesliga, It’ll take time for me to reach my full potential but I’m really happy with how I’ve started at the club so far."

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Patience is not a strong suit of Gooners. But again, you can’t blame them. Unless you ask Alex Iwobi, who does blame them. Arsene Wenger is the human incarnation of patience. Sometimes you just need some damn urgency. It’s not too much to ask.

I respect Xhaka for how honest he is with himself. This isn’t the first time either. He came out and admitted that he wasn’t going to change the way he plays for anyone. That’s someone who knows who he is and who he wants to be.

But just because you are honest doesn’t mean you will be spared from supporters. Just ask Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and a whole slew of other guys.

Giroud admitted that the criticism got to him. That didn’t stop the criticism. Ozil admitted that he isn’t the type of player to track back after the ball. That brought about even more criticism.

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What Xhaka said is common sense and we should all know it already. But it won’t change anybody’s viewpoint.