Arsenal Vs Wolves: And this is why Granit Xhaka must be replaced

Granit Xhaka inexplicably handed Wolves a goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw. His mistake is a by-product of his inconsistency. It is why Arsenal must replace him.

When Granit Xhaka lifted his leg up as the ball rolled towards him, allowing to slip under his foot and wander into the heart of the pitch, deep in his territory, I really cannot even fathom what went through his mind.

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The pass did have a little bit of pace. Perhaps he thought it was for a teammate behind him. But his awareness should have made it clear that no other Arsenal player was in the vicinity, and that, had he lifted his leg up, the ball would fall straight into the welcome feet of Ivan Cavaleiro. Xhaka, predictably, was unaware.

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He was also unaware when Cavaleiro proceeded to feed the ball wide and scamper into the six-yard box, straight off the back of Xhaka. You can tell that Xhaka realised his error when he sees Cavaleiro unmarked in front of him and he desperately tries, to no avail, to recover his position. But the mistakes had already been made; the damage was already done. The match would end 1-1, in large part due to the negligence of Xhaka.

For the remainder of the match, Xhaka did not actually play that poorly. He was nowhere near his best level, certainly, but neither was he sloppy in possession, wasteful in his passing or ill-disciplined in his defending. He was fine. But he still made the one key error that led directly to the only Wolves goal. According to BBC Sport, that is now the fifth time he has made an error that has led directly to a goal since he arrived, more than any other player in the Premier League in the same period — how ‘error’ is defined, I am not sure, so take that statistic with a grain of salt.

The biggest problem with this mistake, for me, however, is that he made it after putting in his best performance of his Arsenal career to date. Xhaka was phenomenal in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, patrolling the midfield with poise and calm, marshalling the troops when out of possession and dictating the play when in it. It was a quintessential midfield general display.

This inconsistency, distinguished by these moments of sheer ineptitude, cripples Xhaka’s value. In a defensive-minded position, being reliable, faithful and steady is perhaps the most important trait. How many times does N’Golo Kante make the type of mistake that Xhaka did on Sunday? Anchoring midfielders do not necessarily need to have the sparkling individual displays like attackers do. It is far more valuable for them to be constant and invariable.

Unfortunately, that is precisely what Xhaka is not — he is not the only one, for that matter. And that is why it is time for Arsenal to replace him. Not necessarily this season. Not necessarily by anyone in the current squad, although I would not be completely averse to Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Matteo Guendouzi being handed an opportunity. But when the summer transfer window rolls around, investment needs to come.

Xhaka is a good player with a very attractive skill set. But his inconsistency cripples him. It is time to move on.