Arsenal: Granit Xhaka is the solution, in case you’ve forgotten

Arsenal will have Granit Xhaka back for the match against Huddersfield, and for those of you that have forgotten, you’ll be reminded that he is, in fact, the solution.

Arsenal lost the midfield battle against Manchester United. They were by far the superior team, but they didn’t have much of a presence right in the heart of the match. And that wasn’t because they were weak in the midfield, or because they lacked the strength.

No, it was because they didn’t have a presence. Both Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi are tremendous ball winners, and their intentions are great, but they are also very reckless with their attacking moves, not to mention a bit loose with the ball at times as well.

There is a reason why Torreira and Granit Xhaka work together so well. It’s because they compliment each other perfectly. Xhaka allows Torreira to be Torreira and Torreira allows Xhaka to be Xhaka. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

And yet, my dear co-expert here at Pain in the Arsenal is claiming that Granit Xhaka was indeed missed, but that he still isn’t the solution.

I find this to be a bit misleading, because in order to make that claim, you have to assume that there is a problem. And when Xhaka and Torreira are out there together, there isn’t a problem. Quite frankly, you put those two together and I don’t think you can do much better, within the realm of reason, of course.

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Now if you want to start talking about moving into a midfield three or something like that, then we have to reevaluate, but as a duo, Xhaka and Torreira are the perfect pairing.

What we lacked against United was a presence. We lacked a control mechanism. There aren’t a lot of midfielders who bring that. Really, there aren’t. And the number continues to dwindle. Especially in a rapacious league like the Premier League is. Yet Xhaka does it. Using his strength, both mentally and physically, he is able to control the ball and put it wherever he wants via his passing.

Now of course, he still makes mistakes. So does everyone else. But in between mistakes, we see extended periods of time where the club is in utter control. This is a very high-paced attack, but as we saw against United, if you don’t have that control, then it all gets a bit frantic.

With Xhaka in there, there is no frantic. The attack can still be high-paced, but they don’t have to desperately bang their head on the wall when it isn’t there. They can let Xhaka do his thing, stretching and straining the defense. And then the attack can try again.

Xhaka is the solution. Because when you plug him into this midfield, there is no longer a problem.