Arsenal: Granit Xhaka painting a crystal clear picture for Arsene Wenger

Arsenal thrived against Crystal Palace, playing the exact way they always dream they can. Granit Xhaka was a big part of that and it’s clear why.

Arsenal stomped all over Crystal Palace in less than half an hour, jumping out to a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to superb corner deliveries by Granit Xhaka. But it’s not his corner deliveries that made the difference for the hotly-debated Swiss midfielder.

The starting XI had some people scratching their heads, myself included. Mohamed Elneny was the deepest of a midfield three with Aaron Ramsey out sick and that left Xhaka and Jack Wilshere to flank the Egyptian and start the magic.

It was, indeed, quite magical. This midfield was on fire, particularly Wilshere, Xhaka and Mesut Ozil, who were interchanging to perfection.

I want to draw special attention to Xhaka, because he looked a completely different player today then he has in the past and that’s because he was playing a completely different position. Rather than rely on his longballs (he only attempted three), Xhaka was given creative license to be a box-to-box midfielder, which Arsene Wenger clearly thinks he can still be.

Well, Wenger was right. Xhaka was a super box-to-box midfielder, creating space for himself, using his body to protect the ball and taking up more advanced positions to get more involved with the attack. It was brilliant.

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With Elneny behind him, Xhaka found the same sort of freedom that he himself gives Ramsey. These are the types of midfielders that thrive under a lack of responsibility. That sounds terrible, but all I’m saying is, the less you try to govern their mind, the better they are going to be. And that doesn’t mean they are going to keep drifting into irresponsible positions. Both Wilshere and Xhaka found time to defend when Elneny took his few forays to the front.

The point is that if you have a midfield two, there has to be instructions. But if you have a midfield three, I’m thinking Ramsey-Xhaka-Wilshere, you can trust that these three immensely talented midfielders will be responsible enough in their own coordination that they won’t leave the defense exposed.

Xhaka clearly thrives when given the same freedom that we give Ramsey. Hopefully Wenger noticed that and is thinking of the benefits behind maximizing that more. We won’t know how it will work with three free-thinking midfielders until it has its first chance to shine, but if it doesn’t, then having a true defensive midfielder unlocks the full potential of this midfield.

Next: Arsenal Vs Palace: 5 things we learned

At the very least, it’s clear. Doubters of Xhaka have to start seeing what he is capable of when used correctly.

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