Arsenal: Granit Xhaka playing the captain and speaking for the team

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka has heaped thanks on Unai Emery for the improvements being made, but it’s not just individually, it’s as a team.

Literally every time Granit Xhaka opens his mouth to speak, I’m sitting here waiting to write about it. Call it obsessive, that’s okay, I won’t deny it. This time around, the Arsenal man heaped a bit of thanks on Unai Emery for the changes the new manager has made to make Xhaka himself a better player.

Frankly, I don’t see what has changed about Xhaka. He’s still the player he was (and that’s a good thing). However, he has been freed up from a lot of unfair blame by Lucas Torreira, who is playing the role that we always knew we needed next to someone like Xhaka.

There’s a reason why Xhaka is doing so well this year, to the acclaim of some who think he’s just the worst player ever, but that reason really isn’t Unai Emery. It’s just because of time and circumstance.

That said, I see what is going on here. Xhaka may be thanking Unai Emery simply because he can feel his own improvements and wants to toss the thanks out there (I’ll take some too, Granit) at any party that is partially responsible.

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Emery did sign Torreira after all, and he has also worked him into the starting XI.

More than that though, Xhaka is doing a very captain-esque thing. He is speaking up for the whole team. This entire team has improved thanks to the tactics of Unai Emery. They are all improving, with much more room for improvement.

Some other players have hinted around the matter and done similar, but Xhaka, in the process of thanking Emery for his own improvements, thanked him for the team’s improvements as well. Few can see it better than Xhaka, who touches the ball more than anyone else on the team.

I still think that Xhaka is the best candidate for the captaincy on the team. Again, he controls the ball more than anyone else. He dictates the pace of the game and everything that goes into it and he’s not exactly soft-spoken. He loves getting in there and standing up for his team mates.

It’s a slow news day, in case you couldn’t tell. But any chance I get to pile praise on Xhaka, I’m going to take. And that’s what just happened.