Arsenal: Let Granit Xhaka fill the void left by Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal are reeling at the loss of the innovations of Aaron Ramsey, but in the quest for a replacement, why are we not talking about Granit Xhaka?

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still not over the fact that Aaron Ramsey will be leaving Arsenal. I so desperately want someone to blame for this fiasco, but can’t seem to find a worthy subject, so I’ve been settling on blaming the ridiculous wages that Wenger gave to Ozil.

Still, we have to think practically, and begin to ponder who might be able to replace what Ramsey left behind. Which is hard to ponder, because Ramsey was such a unique case. He is given complete freedom to roam the pitch because he is trusted to attack and defend in ample quantities.

He needs that freedom to unleash his instincts which translate into those dynamic runs into the box. Who can replace that within the club?

Not Ozil. Ozil can’t be trusted with complete freedom, not if you want him to track back. And not Iwobi, at least not yet. Mkhitaryan is a workhorse, but the defensive chops aren’t there. Torreira could yet grow into the role, and he is showing an affinity for it, but I wonder about his control with the ball, same with Guendouzi.

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Then there is Granit Xhaka. Unai Emery seems to be going the opposite direction with Xhaka, putting him in the defense before putting him in the attack, no doubt because of his strength and sudden aerial prowess, but why couldn’t he do what Ramsey does?

We got a taste of it against Fulham. Xhaka had all the freedom he wanted as he had Guendouzi and Torreira to man the midfield with him and look what happened – he made runs into the box, scored one and nearly snagged another. He was second on the team in chances created and was woefully unlucky not to come away with an assist.

And even with all that attacking, he let the team in winning the ball back.

All in all, it was a very Ramsey day. Xhaka did everything. And I wrote an article afterwards, reminding everyone that Xhaka can do everything if you ask him to.

So why not ask it of him? The freedom clearly suits him well, it let’s him play to his strengths – so give him his freedom and see if he can’t be a bigger solution to the problem than he already is.