Arsenal: Granit Xhaka being challenged from unlikely source

Mohamed Elneny outshone Granit Xhaka during Arsenal’s win over West Bromwich Albion on Monday night. The latter’s starting role is beginning to be challenged.

Arsene Wenger, in a rather odd move, made a slight tactical switch on Monday night in the 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion. When implementing the 3-4-3 formation that has seen Arsenal’s form improve from the closing stages of last season through to this season, Wenger has tended to play one holding central midfielder alongside a free-roaming, marauding midfielder with the license to drive from box-to-box.

For the most part, the two players that have fulfilled those two roles have been Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey, the former being the anchorman, shielding the back three and dictating play from a deeper position, with Ramsey playing slightly ahead of his midfield partner, enjoying the freedom to drift and drive throughout the pitch as he so pleases.

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However, with Mesut Ozil on the bench, making a tentative return from a knee inflammation that kept him out of last weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge, Wenger, this time, decided to push Ramsey into an inside-right forward role, introducing Mohamed Elneny to hold in central midfield alongside Xhaka. It seemed like an overly defensive move against a team that were never expected to press high up the pitch and would be happy to allow Arsenal to dominate possession.

But it soon became clear that the control and the confidence in possession that Elneny provided was invaluable. Arsenal, especially in the first half, looked nervous on the ball. Misplaced passes, loose first touches, a lack of zip and precision in their one-touch interplay. And it was, primarily, Xhaka who was the culprit.

Although he completed 92% of his passes, he didn’t create one chance throughout the 90 minutes, and was safe and conservative in his decision-making. Elneny, on the other hand, was far more willing to push passes forwards, also maintaining a high pass completion rate of 93%.

The Egyptian created two chances, one of which Alexandre Lacazette should have dispatched, had he not taken so long to set himself, allowing Gareth Barry to make a good recovering block, and won 100% of his tackles, showcasing an ability to offer a defensive resilience to his pretty passing.

And that is important. Xhaka, thanks to a lack of athleticism in covering vast spaces, a positional naivety and over-aggression that can be exploited, and a poor tackling technique, often going to ground when he does not need to, has shown a defensive shortcoming that has cost Arsenal in the past.

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His starting role is not as entrenched and guaranteed as it was at the start of the season, and the challenger for his position is Elneny. Unspectacular and, dare I say, boring, Elneny is reliable and dependable, and that is exactly what Arsenal need.

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