Arsenal: Brand new spine sneaking up on Granit Xhaka

For years now Arsenal hasn’t had a “spine” down the middle of their team and it’s hurt them in many ways. Since the days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva Arsenal haven’t looked secure in midfield.

Arsenal lack steel and grit in their midfield, with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny sharing the defensive midfielder duties.

With Xhaka, the Gunners have a potential leader and captain. But with his recent performances, that could be ways away. Many fans think the club should invest in someone that could be a leader, but to find someone with those capabilities could be difficult.

The days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva running the engine room have come and gone. Now they have Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey/Jack Wilshere.

Both Viera and Silva played integral parts in the famous 2003-04 season playing 29 and 32 games in the league respectively. Both players complimented each other as Viera was a bulldozer and Silva was more passive, more willing to shadow opponents.

Granit Xhaka came to the Gunners with plenty of promise and potential. It depends on who you ask, some think he has fulfilled that potential while others think he’s a flop.

He’s been tried as a defensive midfielder and a central midfielder, both they don’t seem to fit his style of play.

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Mohamed Elneny just looks out of place and is often too boring. Elneny never seems to want to play a pass forward or just never plays with a bit of risk. Both can put in a tackle and play a pass like a proper midfielder but could they ever live up to Vieira or Silva?

What does the future hold?

With the emergence of Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, could we finally have something to look forward to?

Maitland-Niles has been deployed as a left back and has impressed immensely. Joe Willock also looks like quite the prospect, his recent performance in the FA Cup could be ignored but he may just need more polish. The pair should get more game time as the Gunners are still in the Europa League. Both players just need game time and the right coaching, maybe then we could have something special.

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With plenty of midfield options, some young and some old. With the ability to play the youngsters, maybe Xhaka and Elneny will have to look over their shoulders.