Arsenal: Granit Xhaka presence felt immediately upon return

Granit Xhak wasn’t perfect against Watford (who was?), but Arsenal are a different club with him out there, and it’s a blessing having him back.

I always love what happens after Granit Xhaka returns from injury. The Arsenal man has been an absolute must-have all season long, yet there will always be gripes. It’s in the nature of the fanbase. He could have a stunning match, but if he made one mistake, well, that’s what he’ll be judged on.

Against Watford, he was expected to keep control of a match that was an absolute nut house. He’d been out injured for over a week, but this was what was asked of him. Give the team a shape, give them some confidence, and everything can be okay.

He did that as much as he could. It’s hard to give the team a shape when the manager changes the shape three times in 90 minutes, but Xhaka did his best to keep the team centered on his presence, and what a difference it made.

Just having someone there – an outlet. Someone who can take the ball and be responsible. Someone who doesn’t feel the need to turn and rush into the teeth of the opposing midfield as soon as he gets the ball.

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That’s what Xhaka did. There’s a calmness to his possession that I don’t get with Guendouzi, Torreira, Ramsey. They are aggressive players, with one thing on the mind, “Move, move, move, and quick!”

Not Xhaka. Xhaka has one thing on the mind, and this works better if you say it in a Matthew McConaughey voice, “Alriiiiiight, let’s see what’s happenin’ here.” There’s no urgency (until there needs to be) and there’s no immediate risk.

Want some numbers? Good. He lost the ball zero times and completed 89% of his passes. When you handle the ball 111 times, that’s saying something. This match was a blazer, but Xhaka was as cool as you like, never stressing over the ball and always giving his team mates someone to pass the ball back to.

Maybe he didn’t defend well, who cares? For the 800,000th time, I don’t bank on Xhaka to defend well. That’s not why he’s here. He’s here to establish a cool head and some control when we can’t find it anywhere else, and he does that, without flaw, all the time.

The Xhaka difference isn’t something you’re going to see in the stats, but you will see it if you watch him. better yet, you’ll feel it. That cool confidence that no one else seems to have.