Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka gel together at long last

Arsenal’s midfield has become a problem spot, but at the very least, we have now seen Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka gel into success.

Arsenal’s midfield pairing of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey has been thrown under the microscope as many were beginning to clamor that despite their individual quality, they just didn’t seem to work well together.

Against Chelsea, nothing could have been farther from the truth. In a match that was dominated by the Arsenal defense, it must be said that they could not have done it alone. They had the help of a monumental combination effort in front of them.

Facing off a Chelsea midfield that is used to controlling proceedings with the likes of N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas, the Blues actually had to readjust because they were getting so manhandled in the middle of the pitch. Kante was completely outdone by his counterparts and Chelsea had to send Tiemoue Bakayoko onto the pitch to help keep balance.

In response, the Gunners started to rely more on their flanks.

But the point shouldn’t be lost that Ramsey and Xhaka out-dueled Kante and Fabregas in every sense of the word. They put up better statistics in terms of winning back possession and the Xhaka-Ramsey combo showed tremendous resilience over the ball as well, not giving Kante that many balls to make a play on.

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This was a big step for these two, as it’s pretty widely believed that they were on thin ice. The main thing that was keeping them paired up was the lack of a better option, as Mohamed Elneny yet again proved that he really isn’t capable of playing at this level.

Which makes the return of Jack Wilshere pretty damn important, as he provided a feasible threat to the fading partnership. That is, up until this match.

The thing that impressed me most about Ramsey was how he was able to do everything, defensive and offensive. But the thing that impressed me most about Xhaka was how he settled himself down. He was frantic at the start, under pressure constantly. Even when he wasn’t under pressure, he felt rushed.

That changed late on and he became like a general in the middle of the pitch, winning and retaining possession and spreading play out. He no longer looked panicked and rushed, he looked well within his element, and that should always be the end goal.

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In the end, a massive chunk of the credit for this solid team effort has to go to the midfield duo, who was so strong that Chelsea had to make adjustments to handle them.

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