Arsenal: The Granit Xhaka debate has started already

Arsenal didn’t have a lot of stand-out performers, and Granit Xhaka certainly wasn’t one of the few. So let the debate begin again, because there’s a lot to talk about.

I have made some pretty eccentric predictions for Granit Xhaka’s third-season with Arsenal. Namely, that he will tally double-digit assists. Which I stand by. But after that first performance, I’m a bit nervous.

Not because he doesn’t have the quality. He absolutely has the quality. But because I don’t know how long he will last in the starting XI.

As someone who watches specifically for Xhaka, I didn’t even notice him until about the tenth minute against Manchester City, and then he had a classic giveaway in a bad position from lingering on the ball. Those, however, have become more rare, and it was legitimately his only mistake.

Other than that, he didn’t have a bad match. He made some clever passes and switches and has really mastered the art of making a quick decision regarding where to send the ball effectively.

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That isn’t why I’m throwing my doubt into the world. I’m throwing my doubt out there because of the tactics of the club. These new tactics clearly favor mobile midfielders who cover a lot of ground, win the ball back and drive it forward.

Xhaka doesn’t do that. Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira do, and from the moment they were paired up, you could tell that there was going to be a lot of success to be found in that pairing. They really didn’t need much else.

Aaron Ramsey makes sense as a third option in the midfield because he has that indelible ability to score and assist and pop up where he needs to be. That’s a practical, palpable thing to have.

Xhaka’s practical palpable thing is to control the tempo and secure the ball. But that isn’t needed nearly as much under the new set-up. So either he has to reinvent himself again or he has to do his specialties so well that he just has to start. Which is a big ask, because his specialties aren’t nearly as obviously impacting as Ramsey.

Xhaka is used to touching the ball a lot. He didn’t do that against City. He was taken off early for Torreira and, as much as I hate to say it, he wasn’t missed.

Not every match is going to be like this one, though, where the Gunners are focused on quick strikes and counter-attacking. In fact, most will ideally involve a lot more dominance with the ball. That is where Xhaka has to shine. Hopefully he can make it until then.