Arsenal: Granit Xhaka still exactly who we thought he was

Arsenal’s entire starting XI was pretty exposed against Liverpool, so it’s always nice to be reminded that players are who we thought they were. And Granit Xhaka is.

There was not a single Arsenal player who emerged from that 4-0 Liverpool drubbing looking like the player that we thought they were. Except maybe Petr Cech. Every outfield player was made to look like a fraud. There was a complete lack of anything positive.

Related Story: 5 Things We Learned Against Bournemouth

That changed against Bournemouth. Arsenal returned to form and we got to see a lot of guys playing above and beyond who we thought they were. Namely Danny Welbeck.

Those sort of ‘out of his skin’ performances are always going to be amazing to watch, but not expected. Granit Xhaka, meanwhile, deserves immense praise too because while he may not have had a barn burner of a match, he proved that he still was the player we had come to rely on last year.

Last season when the 3-4-2-1 was first implemented, Xhaka really started to get into his stride. His fouling virtually disappeared, his presence on the ball was damn near perfect and he was given the freedom to do what he does best – hang out in deeper portions of the pitch where there is space and spray the ball through the gaps and start up attacks.

That aspect of his game was tragically missing against Liverpool and going back to Stoke. He was smothered, pressured, and was more threatening to our own goal than to the opponents.

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But those were two matches out of a much larger sample size. What we saw against Bournemouth is the usual Xhaka.

And by usual, I do not mean ordinary. He was a sentinel on the ball, as he didn’t lose possession once. He only committed one foul and he even had the space and the opportunities to take a few whacks at goal.

That is what Xhaka that we know and this is who Granit Xhaka is. The one that we saw in the past two matches was a victim of a crumbling team structure, not a result of any massive fall from grace on his part.

He even won the ball back a few times and completed some slick dribbles, just for good measure.

Next: Arsenal vs Bournemouth Player Ratings

Xhaka is not a point of concern in this midfield. The concern is building a strong enough structure to support a player of his talents. And that should be a primary objective for this club as they continue to push towards that sweet spot where the team is maximized to the fullest.