Arsenal Vs Newcastle United: Granit Xhaka tantalises again

It was very much a game of two halves for Granit Xhaka: dreadful in the first; excellent in the second. The Arsenal midfielder again tantalised. This is what he is capable of. So why doesn’t he produce like it?

Arsenal squeezed past Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon thanks to two very different performances. One of sluggish, loose, uncontrolled play; one of vibrant, energetic, dynamic, artistic expression. It was as if a different came out of the dressing room. The 2-1 scoreline of the second 45 minutes was an illustration of precisely that disparity.

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And no player displayed this disconnection between halves better than Granit Xhaka.

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Playing at the base of the midfield, as he has done with varying success throughout his time at the Emirates, Xhaka was his vacant, mistake-riddled, distant self in the first half. Not helped by his wandering partner, Matteo Guendouzi, who felt it oddly necessary to take up rather peculiar positions to try and engineer some semblance of a passing option for his teammates, like standing between the centre-halves with no pressure on the ball, or dropping into the space at right back with Hector Bellerin bombing up the flank, the Swiss international struggled to gain Arsenal a foothold in the game, something that, as the playmaking, orchestrating conductor that he is meant to be, is his most primary and basic purpose.

His struggles extended into those around him. Because Xhaka was unable to provide it, Mesut Ozil and his gang of unheralded and unruly attackers were provided little service with which to test a Newcastle defence that was daring to play a precariously high line. Neither Bellerin nor Nacho Monreal could provide any attacking width as they looked to bombard the outer flanks. Meanwhile, Aaron Ramsey was floating inexorably, just looking for a touch of the ball.

And then, in one halftime switch, with Lucas Torreira, the Prince that was Promised at the hallowed defensive-midfield position for the Arsenal faithful, replacing Guendouzi, Xhaka, like the rest of his team, turned into a different player. His pass completion rose from 80% to 86%. He had 11.6% possession, which is an astonishing amount, compared to just 10%. He was at the heart of the game in the second half.

This was Xhaka at his best. Of course, he rifled in a long-range freekick to open the scoring. And he looped down the left flank to provide the key moment of quality for the second goal, his excellent cut-back to Alexandre Lacazette eventually leading to Mesut Ozil’s placed rebound squirming past the futile paw of Martin Dubravka. But more than just these momentary glimpses of his capabilities, Xhaka finally blended the controlling and creative influences that a central midfielder at the heart of Arsenal must offer.

The question, then, that must be asked is not one of potential but of production, not of capability but of consistency, not of aptitude but application. Why does Xhaka not perform like this on a frequent basis? And can he now do so in the future in a new system, under a new manager, with a new midfield partner, assuming Torreira is rewarded for his game-altering influence?

Xhaka tantalised what he can do. But like with many Arsenal players, what he can do and what he does do are so desperately dissimilar that it is hard not to question where these type of displays are when he is being run around the umpteenth time by a more mobile opponent. This is the standard that Xhaka has set for himself, the standard by which he should be measured.

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Can he replicate it? Can he meet it week in and week out? Time will tell. I certainly have my doubts. But this is what should be expected of him. Let’s hope, then, we get the one that walked out the tunnel for the second half, not the first.

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