Arsenal: Is it as simple as Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Granit Xhaka?

As the season draws closer, we are afforded more and more glimpses into the Arsenal team that Unai Emery may select. And with many of the positions slowly being settled, is the whole selection dilemma as simple as Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Granit Xhaka?

Unai Emery’s plans for this current crop of Arsenal players are slowly being revealed to us with each passing day, with every minute of preseason football, with all of the training sessions and press conference quotes and nuggets of information that seep out of the club in media reports, press releases, and player interviews.

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As we draw ever nearer to the start of the new season — the Gunners open the year on August 12th, which is less than two weeks away –, the picture becomes that much clearer. Certain players are sold, others are featured more heavily in the preseason, personnel decisions are made and the squad is slowly but surely rounded into shape prior to the new season.

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And as I consider the trajectory of Emery’s Arsenal, the style with which he has wanted his team to play in this summer, the comments that he has made, and the overall feel of the club prior to the commencement of this new era, I come to realise that all of the selection issues that seemingly present themselves this season could rest on just one question: Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Granit Xhaka?

At first, I wondered whether Alexandre Lacazette would be the odd man out. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a natural centre-forward and it was uncertain whether Emery would be happy shunting him out to the wing. So far this preseason, Aubameyang has predominantly played on the left wing with Lacazette looking extremely sharp through the middle.

With those two in position, Lucas Torreira introduced to anchor the base of the midfield as the scrappy, combative, tough-tackling game breaker that this team has been crying out for, Aaron Ramsey presumably still present as the beating heart of it all and Mesut Ozil featured in a more advanced role as seen in the 5-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain, there is only one position left to decipher: the third central midfielder or wide attacker, depending on how Emery chooses to position Ozil.

And this comes down to a straight decision between Mkhitaryan and Xhaka. Admittedly, it is not just a question of which player is better. They play very different positions and the impact that their presence or absence would have on the overall team must be taken into account. Would Arsenal be unbalanced, for instance, with Ozil playing in a central role and Mkhitaryan in a wide attacking position?

But much of what Emery must decide regarding his team selection this season will rest on whether he prefers Mkhitaryan or Xhaka. This will obviously change as the year progresses. Injuries and fatigue will take their toll. Form must be factored into the equation, as should the opposition — perhaps against Manchester City on the opening day of the season, for instance, Emery selects Xhaka for that added midfield steel and structure.

Generally speaking, however, it seems clear to me that this current Arsenal team is beginning to take shape, with Mkhitaryan or Xhaka the last hole to fill. Let’s hope that Emery has it right.