Arsenal: Granit Xhaka is one of the only reliables going forward
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal have a lot of question marks going forward, so any hint of reliability should be welcomed. Guess what? Granit Xhaka is a reliable. So embrace it.
My Granit Xhaka article productivity has gone through the stratosphere lately, as his own productivity with Arsenal has mimicked that. While many people are being swayed to maybe appreciate Xhaka a bit more, there are still some – here at this very site – that think he is “auditioning” for the rest of the season.
To which I couldn’t be more drastically opposed. You may have already gleaned this point from my “3 reasons to reconsider Granit Xhaka” slideshow.
But I just want to reemphasize this one point in particular, because I feel it’s so important and it’s being woefully overlooked.
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Let’s first all accept that Xhaka has been superb over the past two months. The best he has had at the club. All the things many people thought he couldn’t do, he is doing, and he is doing incredibly well. I understand some people think it may still be a fluke, but time will prove that wrong, just as time is proving most of the other dissenters wrong.
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But this masks the bigger point. Yes, Xhaka is improving, yes, he has started every single match and yes, some have been marred by mistakes. But as he improves, his presence if more and more welcomed.
And, that said, Xhaka is here to stay. There are not a lot of constants going into this summer. The midfield least of all, as both Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are questionable.
A lot of people are questionable. A lot of everything is questionable.
Xhaka does not need to be. There is no reason why he needs to be thrown into an “audition” when he has already proven all the things that he can do. He has been a steady presence on a team with so few of such and that should be embraced, not shun.
Arsene Wenger used to be the one constant, for better or worse. That constant is fading as well. Tumult is not always a fun environment to build a club in, which is why I again find myself looking to who I know are going to be here going forward.
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Xhaka is one. And he is one of the few. Mesut Ozil is another. I cling to players like that who I know are part of the future, even the immediate future. Because there aren’t many others that have broken through into the reliable stages yet.