Arsenal: Granit Xhaka’s spot of bother might not be tolerated

Arsenal’s win over West Brom was comprehensive enough, but the weak link was Granit Xhaka. Does that mean he gets the next hook?

Arsenal’s needed win over West Brom at the Emirates saw them lifted to seventh in the table, just six points off the pace, which is by no means insurmountable. A large part of the credit has to go to Arsene Wenger, however, as he has been quick to fix what isn’t working within the team.

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When Wenger pointed out that there was no hierarchy of players in response to questions regarding Alexis Sanchez, he made it perfectly clear – no one is safe inside this starting XI, anyone can be moved out if they aren’t effective.

Wenger has been more willing to sit Alexis and Mesut Ozil to let them rest up from injuries and has as of yet not even played the trio of Alexis, Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette together because he has been so intensively trying to make sure that he pieces the right team together.

I’d like to think that it was also Danny Welbeck‘s form that largely contributed to keeping Alexis out of the starting XI, and rightfully so. There isn’t a lot of tolerance right now for players that aren’t going to give their all to this year’s effort.

Which is why I worry about Granit Xhaka. Because if things are being fair, then this news of the lack of a hierarchy affects him the most. He was not good against West Brom. Pretty terrible actually, as he was loose with the ball, noticeably bad in his passing and didn’t really contribute much of anything.

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And trust me, I am a Xhaka apologist. If there was anything there to celebrate, I wouldn’t be writing this. It was a worrisome match. He was outdone by Mohamed Elneny and bullied by his West Brom counterparts.

Seeing as how Wenger has had some quick hooks this year, I worry that Xhaka may be next in line. We all know that Wenger thinks the world of Xhaka, and quite frankly, we should too, but keeping in mind that poor form is not being tolerated this year, doesn’t it stand to reason that the Swiss midfielder would be the next to get the hook? Especially with Elneny showing up strong and Jack Wilshere coming back?

Xhaka’s passing was similarly strained against Chelsea, although in that match, he did settle down a bit and, to his credit, the same was true against the Baggies. He did settle down a bit and ended up with a 94% passing percentage that masks how poor some of those passes were.

Next: Arsenal vs West Brom Player Ratings

This may just be an issue of confidence. Xhaka can have a monumental impact when he is at his best, it just feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve seen that.