Arsenal: Granit Xhaka’s Season Was Made For This

Arsenal nation is lukewarm about Granit Xhaka despite what has been a very promising season, but that can all be done away with in one fell swoop.

Now that Granit Xhaka is performing even better as of late, suddenly people want to come out and say ‘eh, maybe he hasn’t been so bad after all.’ Yeah, because he hasn’t. Arsenal got exactly what they wanted in the Swiss midfielder, I’ve been saying it all year. He’s had a few slip-ups but the overall package has been as close to complete as can be.

Related Story: 3 Midfield Transfers To Complete Xhaka Partnership

Squawka actually brought out even more numbers, in addition to the ones I provided not long ago, to prove that Xhaka has been fantastic this year, if not one of the best deep-lying midfielders in the league.

But I’ve accepted that this evidence alone is not going to sway the court of public opinion. Instead, what needs to happen is that Granit Xhaka needs to have one monumental performance is a colossal match that everyone needs to be watching.

Again, when he plays well, people suddenly realize he hasn’t been all that bad. So one huge ka-pow to the faces of all those tuned in against Tottenham and suddenly he will be heralded as well worth it.

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But that is the big key here. Xhaka is going to play the biggest role on the pitch in one of the biggest North London Derby’s in recent memory. The Spuds get so much of their power out of their midfield. Between Victor Wanyama, Moussa Dembele, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and beyond, there are weapons and soldiers galore.

All of them are going to be matched up against Xhaka and, most likely, Aaron Ramsey. But the key figure is Xhaka, who will be the deepest-lying midfielder and the one in charge of slowing down that deadly attack when it comes marching the other way.

This 3-4-2-1 formation has accentuated Xhaka’s best features and allowed him the freedom to be himself. That is why he has had three near-unanimously praised performances in a row within the formation.

Time to up that to the next level and do it away from home in front of a feverish stadium of hostile fans. This is when you earn your stripes. This is when you take all that criticism you’ve received and stomp it into the dust.

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Everything Xhaka has done to draw ire can be buried if he controls that midfield at White Hart Lane. He’s had his acclimation period, there is nothing to fall back on now.