Arsenal: Guess who I’d rather have than Tanguy NDombele?

Arsenal fans are in a tiff because Tottenham spent £60m on Tanguy NDombele, but guess who we already have that happens to be better than him?

Nothing will give the media more fodder to piss off Arsenal fans than a big-money investment from Tottenham Hotspur. There’s already an article out there saying that, because Spurs spent £60m on Tanguy NDombele, that the Gunners are in Spurs’ shadow. Which is stupid. Not least of all because we have someone better.

That someone? Granit Xhaka. Yeah. Deal with it.

There were a handful of matches that really stood out last season, during the transition to this new era, but it just so happens that one of those matches was against Tottenham, where we put on a truly fantastic midfield display the won us the match.

Right in the middle of it was the always-underappreciated Granit Xhaka.

Now, don’t get me wrong. NDombele is a great player, and I’m a big admirer. He has a very unique combination of having that ability to drive from deep while also having the capacity to stay at home. He’s a deep dribbler and creator, as well as a dutiful defensive presence.

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But what he does and what Xhaka does aren’t yet comparable. Not least of all because Xhaka plays better defense than NDombele, and NDombele hasn’t even played in the Premier League yet.

NDombele is known as a creator—he creates 1.4 chances per match. In Ligue 1.

Granit Xhaka isn’t known as a creator—he creates 1.4 chances per match. In the Premier League.

Xhaka is far and away more controlled in possession, something that will bite NDombele in the arse in the unforgiving Premier League, especially early on, and the only edge that NDombele consistently shows is his ability to drive the ball forward. Which again, is valuable, but Xhaka answers with his unmatched ability to spray the ball across the pitch, making space that way rather than with his feet.

Sure, NDombele boasts better athleticism, but if you told me I could have one or the other, I’d take Xhaka. I don’t think you’re going to see NDombele winning midfield battles for Spurs the way Xhaka does for us. Maybe several years down the road, but not right away and hell, maybe not even then, if he can stomach staying at Spurs for that long.

They’ve got nothing on Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira (yeah, he’s still here), and this midfield set-up. Get real.