Arsenal: Matteo Guendouzi going beyond his Xhaka impressions

Arsenal’s result against Manchester City can’t hide the fact that Matteo Guendouzi is a certified BAMF, and he got there by impersonating Granit Xhaka.

Needless to say, I was devastated when I found out that Granit Xhaka was unavailable for Arsenal. I’ve never posted so many “trantrum” GIFs on Twitter before in my life. But that’s how it felt, knowing that the midfield was about to get bossed because no one was there to control the ball, only win it back.

I was wrong. Matteo Guendouzi was a shoo-in for man of the match because he and Lucas Torreira both played tremendous matches in their own rights, and provided a reliable foundation of energy and marauding tendencies.

But it was Guendouzi that won the day within the loss. And it was because he didn’t just put on his best Granit Xhaka impression, which was pretty convincing, but he also took on his own identity and it flourished.

As for the Xhaka impression, he was the best passer on the pitch, City players included, as he completed 95% of his passes, one of which accounted for 25% of the chances created by the team.

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And the best part of the impression? He didn’t get dispossessed a single time, despite handling the ball 64 times, more than anyone else on the club. Those are all very Xhaka-like things for Guendouzi to accomplish, but while those were pretty stellar, it was in Guendouzi’s sudden Wilshere-esque abilities that deserve the most credit.

For how much trouble the Gunners had actually creating chances, they didn’t have problems getting into chance creation areas, and Guendouzi was a big reason why. His first step en route to driving the ball forward, through the City midfield and into the teeth of their defense, was impeccable.

Time and again he could be found taking the ball ten, twenty yards all by himself, dribbling through the ranks and trying to link play together.

At the end of the match, he had completed a team-high two dribbles, which may not sound like much, but he didn’t always have to do a fancy-pants move to get through to where he was going. Sometimes he just had to go, and he did, he went, bravely even.

This was the kind of match that will drive more and more fans into the Guendouzi For Life camp, which should probably see it’s numbers ballooning at this point, with how tremendous his first season has been.