Arsenal: Steven N’Zonzi should not be Granit Xhaka complement

Arsenal are being linked with a move for Steven N’Zonzi. The rangy Sevilla midfielder should not be a complement for Granit Xhaka; he should be his replacement.

The Arsenal midfield structure is struggling to support a fully-fledged, flourishing team. Offensively, they are, while creating, a little too conservative, often settling for the easier option, rather than pushing the envelope; defensively, they lack neither the discipline nor the dynamism to provide the requisite protection in front of a back-three or back-four. Change must come.

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So the recent rumours surrounding a possible January move for Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi are certainly encouraging. Now, I do not know how founded and accurate these reports are, In the increasingly swirling and ambiguous world, it is very difficult to discern the validity of much of what is said in the papers. However, I would like to discuss the change that N’Zonzi could bring to the midfield.

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The primary question to ask is this: ‘Would N’Zonzi be signed as a replacement, and anticipated improvement, on Granit Xhaka or is he being readied as a player to complement the Swiss international in the hope that a change in a role and responsibility for the underwhelming £35 million man will release his better qualities?’, because N’Zonzi, and Xhaka for the matter, have a fair argument for both avenues to take.

Xhaka, for example, clearly is a talented footballer. He has a lovely range of passing, his vision is creative and insightful, he initiates attacks with piercing, raking passes from deep. But there are some serious shortcomings that significantly limit the positive influence that he has on games. And in the current position that he is being played in, as the deepest-lying midfielder, shielding the defence and anchoring the team, his vices, not his virtues, are being highlighted.

There is a reasonable thought that introducing a more defensively astute and rangy N’Zonzi alongside Xhaka would help balance the Arsenal team, shifting Xhaka into a slightly more advanced role where his ability on the ball is accentuated a little more.

The problem with that thinking, though, is that there are already players in the Arsenal squad that would excel in Xhaka’s new role more than him. Aaron Ramsey is one who has consistently proven himself to be a creative and scoring force in a free-roaming, marauding position from central midfield.

Another is Jack Wilshere, who, in Ramsey’s stead, is beginning to establish himself as a starter in the Premier League. Wilshere suffered because of Wenger’s implementing the 3-4-3 system that only allowed for two central midfielders. But since shifting to a back-four, that has introduced a third central midfielder, which suits Wilshere’s skill set far more.

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N’Zonzi would certainly be a wise acquisition. He would bring a very different element to a somewhat one-dimensional Arsenal midfield. But he should be as a replacement for Xhaka, not a complement. The other options dictate that much.