Arsenal: Try to say we don’t need Granit Xhaka, I dare you

Arsenal fans have been notoriously unappreciative of Granit Xhaka, but after another stellar reminder, is anyone foolhardy enough to say we don’t need him?

This this Arsenal match was a tale of two halves, it was also a tale of one Granit Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder, after three matches out due to injury, has returned to his best and, along with it, so too has the club around him. And that’s no coincidence.

There was a moment in the first half when the commentators asked why it was that of all the Southampton midfielders crammed into their 3-5-1-1 formation, no one could stop Granit Xhaka from pulling the strings of the match. That was a question that went unanswered throughout the course of the 90 minutes, because it was Granit Xhaka who owned this match and controlled it to his liking.

First of all, before I gush too much, no, I didn’t miss that one mistake he made. But the point is all the mistakes he avoided making (yet again) for the rest of the match on either side of that one poor pass.

A lot of what Xhaka does falls in the “intangibles” category. There isn’t a stat for control, though if you combine number of touches with number of times possession was surrendered, you can get a good indication, and Xhaka is a master in the art of not giving the ball up.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Oftentimes He will protect the ball with his body until he is fouled, which accomplishes the goal of not surrendering possession even if he puts his body on the line for it. For instance, he was fouled a massive five times against the Saints, with the majority coming from him refusing to give up the ball.

But in these past two matches, Xhaka has given all the haters out there even more to think about, because he’s created six chances in his last two matches since returning from injury. Only Alex Iwobi can match that number, and Iwobi is obviously a bit looser in possession than our man from Switzerland.

It’s not just that though, it’s his ability to not waste possession either. He isn’t the kind of guy who is going to play a ball forward and hope for luck. If it isn’t there, he finds the space where it is, whether that is backwards, forwards, cross town or into a different area code, he will find the most logical outlet.

He completed a team-high 90.4% of his passes against Southampton, touched the ball more than any non-defenders and only gave up possession one measly time. So please, try to tell me why his control isn’t necessary.