Arsenal: What was that you were saying about Granit Xhaka?

Arsenal had their key men step up against Valencia, and in case you were still asking questions about Granit Xhaka, it’s safe to say he answered.

The question was asked. At the 11th minute mark, Valencia took advantage of a flustered Arsenal defense and one goal could have become three. But as the Gunners scrambled to establish some foundation, they needed to find who they could count on to lead this game in the right direction.

Safe to say Alexandre Lacazette was one of them, but the other was clearly Granit Xhaka, who has unfortunately fallen under even more criticism since he’s had two poor matches against Wolverhampton and Leicester City.

But he hasn’t had two bad matches, has he? He was poor against Wolverhampton, but it was his first match back from a lengthy and nagging injury. Rust is a real thing, and it’s unfair to criticize him for it too much.

And against Leicester? He really only had a bad half, because he was pretty super in the first half. So this whole “he’s back to his old self” is being based off of… 45 minutes.

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Granted, a struggling team holds no prisoners, and Xhaka shouldn’t be purposely excluded just because he’s been hurt.

But more importantly, when the game got tough against Valencia, Xhaka took charge. He really took charge. In the first half, he had 75% of the Gunners chances, creating three all on his own. Only Aubameyang bothered to create another. Sure, Xhaka wasn’t perfect, especially in the opening onslaught, as he was a bit sloppy, but his ability to respond and step into a role was a trademark of his maturing self.

Xhaka was the commander that he has been so reliably all season. And yes, I did say all season. Because this year has been a tremendous showing from Xhaka, and seeing him back to his usual dominant self against Valencia was a breath of fresh air for those of us that have never questioned how important he is.

Xhaka finished the match leading the team in created chances and tied for the team lead in successful tackles. He was his usual dominant self on the ball, finding the channels for his wingbacks and strikers and he knew where the damage could be done and directed play that way.

This was just another great match for Xhaka, and one that should serve as an unnecessary reminder that this is the player that he is and has grown into. He’s the kind of guy you build around, not sell off.