Arsenal: Granit Xhaka hasn’t transformed, you just haven’t noticed

Arsenal fans are going batty about Granit Xhaka, saying he’s “transformed,” but he hasn’t. You just haven’t noticed how good he actually is.

Arsenal‘s convincing draw against Liverpool has a lot of people talking about a lot of things. Not least of all is Granit Xhaka, arguably the most contentious player that the Gunners have acquired in the past five years.

But after Liverpool, everyone has seen the light. Check the headlines. Everyone is gushing about Granit Xhaka’s ‘transformation’ under Unai Emery, which essentially says that everything Xhaka is now has evolved from the “worthless” “sell-him-now” midfielder that he was, oh… six months ago?

Yeah, no. That’s not at all what has happened. Granit Xhaka hasn’t transformed at all, haters just haven’t noticed how good he is because they’ve been too busy blaming him for everything that was in no way his fault.

Let’s hit up the numbers, since most people are very number-driven, shall we?

What are the three things that fans have criticized Xhaka for the most? 1. He can’t defend. 2. He’s loose with the ball. 3. He lashes out and makes stupid fouls. Maybe also throw in that he’s slow, but there’s no fixing that.

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If you look at defensive numbers – i.e. tackles, interceptions, ball recoveries – Xhaka’s totals this year are the lowest they’ve been since he arrived. That’s not to say that they’re bad. For a player of his faculties, they’re right where you’d want them to be.

But they aren’t any better. Unai Emery hasn’t made him someone else.

You want to talk about being loose with the ball? His numbers this year are the worst they’ve been since he arrived. Now, granted, they aren’t bad at all. They’re quite good. He’s loosing the ball less than once per match. Great numbers. But in the minuscule difference between 0.7 times per game and 0.9, this year is a bit behind.

And he’s fouling more than ever before, too.

He’s not creating any more chances and he’s actually completing a lower percentage of passes too. Again, not alarmingly, nothing crazy, but in terms of numbers, he’s no different and, if you want to be nit-picky, he’s worse.

In case you’ve forgotten, I’m perhaps the most unapologetic pro-Xhaka person on the planet. And I’m glad that people are finally starting to get it. They’re starting to see it. He is a complete midfielder, and one of the best at being just that.

But this is who he he’s been all along. All along. Everyone is just running out of things to blame him for because the team around him is improving. Still, welcome aboard everyone. I’m the driver of this bandwagon and there’s still plenty of seating.