Arsenal: Captain Granit Xhaka the framework of the future

Arsenal had a very positive outing against Manchester United, despite the result, and the cornerstone of it all was Granit Xhaka. Hello, future.

So, Arsenal lost against Manchester United. That’s literally the only bad thing that came out of this game. Well, aside from injuries and seeing Hector Bellerin get skinned my Anthony Martial twice, but overall, there was not a poor individual performance on the day.

Which includes the captain of the day, in his inaugural foray with the armband, my main man Granit Xhaka.

The Swiss international had a huge charge on his hands. His first ever day as captain and he was surrounded by teenagers playing against the first-choice Manchester United outfit. There was not a soul who I would have trusted with that charge, not even Xhaka, because it felt impossible.

But Xhaka made it work. Not only that, but he thrived. Literally. Despite not being a defensive midfielder, Xhaka was tied for the team lead in ball-winning plays. He was the dominant leader that we’ve always wanted and it shined through massively. He defended deep, competed for every ball and while yes, he made a rash tackle or two and got only his third yellow card of 2018, he was a stalwart on and off the ball.

There’s no denying it. He lead the team in chances created and were it not for him, that goal wouldn’t have happened. He pressed the ball, he took the ball, he passed it to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who scored. Try to make that goal happen without the captain. You can’t.

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Xhaka completed 90% of his passes and while he was dispossessed one whole time, which exceeds his season average of one-half, you could not have found someone more comfortable and confident standing over that ball.

And have I mentioned the leadership?

Xhaka had Calum Chambers (23) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (20) behind him, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (20) next to him and Alex Iwobi (21) and Reiss Nelson (18) in front of him. If Xhaka did not play his cards right, he was going to look incredibly isolated, inept and alone and, worst of all, so would all these youngsters around him.

But none of that happened. Everyone was where they needed to be, they played the roles they needed to play and, when called upon, did their jobs in a positive, not-at-all-nervy way.

That is what a captain does. A captain imbues those around him with order and confidence and that imbuing wasn’t coming from anyone else. It came from the guy in the heart, with the armband and the most touches by a country mile yet again.

And on that header? That fateful header? Xhaka held his own. He was every bit as high and strong as Fellaini. The problem was that Fellaini has the better angle by about an inch. And oh, by the way, who can actually say they are better than Fellaini in the air?

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Atletico Madrid

He’s 25 years old, he’s locked in for years. Give him the band and build the team around him. It’s a waste of resources not to.

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