Arsenal: Granit Xhaka digression opens up a whole new world

Arsenal certainly followed the trend of delivering a massive let down and, unfortunately, Granit Xhaka seems to have opened up a whole new world.

I was left with the unfortunate task of having to watch the Arsenal game for the first time after already having known the result and the major talking points. Which, trust me, is far worse than watching it play out live. At least with that you have something to hope for. Not me.

I knew the Granit Xhaka mistake was coming before it happened and sure enough, it was just as bad as I thought. It was also similar in nature to the giveaway that led to a goal against Leicester City.

Making it two mistakes leading to goals in as many games. Hardly something you want to see developing into a trend and absolutely something that leads to a brand new world of criticism.

Last year, all anyone could talk about was Xhaka’s disciplinary problems. Too many fouls, too many cards, poor tackles and loose in possession. All spelling a rather unstable midfielder.

But I happily stood by Xhaka and watched as those problems were left in the past. Not just that, he became an asset and it was all happening so quickly.

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And, if you’ve been following along with my Xhaka posts this summer, you see a theme – Xhaka has crossed the border and is nearing super stardom, so I said. And I still hold by that. The problem, however, is this brand new narrative that we need to talk about. Not disciplinary, but sloppy.

Two games is most certainly not a trend, and for me to term it as ‘digression’ is a bit harsh, I’ll admit, but Xhaka’s wayward passes are putting massive blemishes on otherwise decent matches. Of course, Stoke wasn’t a decent match. Even his longballs were way off, completing just five of twelve.

You know it’s bad when even the one thing he is seemingly flawless at becomes a problem.

Anyway, the point is that this brand new flaw we are seeing front and center opens up a world of hurt that we aren’t ready for. If Xhaka can’t recover from these short pass fiascoes, who takes his place? With Aaron Ramsey already an injury liability (strong against Stoke, however), then what happens in a worst case scenario?

Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin? That’s horrifying to even think about? Jack Wilshere?

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Xhaka is supposed to be the rock in that midfield. But when Arsene Wenger himself is criticizing the “stupidity” in the center of the pitch, you know it’s bad. And it needs to be cleared up or the Gunners are up and unfriendly creek.

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