Arsenal and Granit Xhaka: Let’s not overreact too fast

Granit Xhaka was excellent in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Southampton. Nevertheless, to call him fixed and the future of the midfield might be a little hasty.

Arsenal played one of the better halves of the season in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Southampton. The first half was a controlled, commanding effort that should have yielded far more than the two goals that it did, even if Southampton had one or two chances at the other end.

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And at the heart of it was Granit Xhaka. Although he faded a tad in the second half, though this was partly due to Southampton’s upped intensity and pressing game, in the first period, he was the best player on the pitch, purring as he unfurled pass after pass that instigated attack after attack. This was the orchestrating Swiss at his very best.

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He had a 91% pass completion rate in the first half, made more passes than any other player on the pitch that wasn’t a defender, and, crucially, passed the ball forwards on almost half of his attempts, as well as playing 15 passes into the final third in the first half alone, more than any other player. This was a passing masterclass from Xhaka, accompanied by an energetic, industrious defensive display.

He does deserve great praise for his performance. His value has been noticed in his absence of late and his return to the starting line-up alongside his favoured partner Lucas Torreira had a noticeable impact. But there does need to be a little bit of care taken in just how much praise is heaped on his shoulders. He played very well and he is important to this Arsenal team, yes. But that does not mean that he should be the cornerstone of the midfield moving forwards.

We have seen these types of showings before. Xhaka was phenomenal in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool earlier in the season. He was very good in the second half versus Spurs in the first north London derby of the season, with Unai Emery’s half-time change to a 3-5-2 allowing his passing to the come to fore.

The problem with Xhaka is similar to that of Shkodran Mustafi: in the odd game when all is going well, he can be an invaluable member of the team and looking like a founding piece of the future. But consistency is required to succeed at the top level and he has consistently proven that he cannot replicate these performances on a regular basis.

When I criticise and call for Xhaka to be replaced, it is not out of his ineptness per se. I do recognise that he is valuable to the team at present. My argument is based on the value of having a commanding, controlling deep-lying midfielder is such that you need one of the best in the world to play the position. Xhaka has the tools to be excellent at it, but he does not produce as his skill set implies he should.

Xhaka played well on Sunday. Very well. And he has played well for large periods of this season. But let’s not be too hasty or overreact too much. He still has serious shortcomings that demand an improvement, no matter what one match against a hapless Southampton may suggest.