Arsenal: The problem with Granit Xhaka, the captain

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 04: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal looks on during the Joan Gamper trophy friendly match between FC Barcelona and Arsenal at Nou Camp on August 04, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 04: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal looks on during the Joan Gamper trophy friendly match between FC Barcelona and Arsenal at Nou Camp on August 04, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /
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Granit Xhaka was named Arsenal’s captain for their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona, suggesting he is Unai Emery’s first choice. There is one major problem with this: that likely means he is going to play.

Unai Emery has always stated that he wants more than one captain. Last summer, ahead of his first season in the role as Arsenal head coach, he named five different players as potential captains, although Laurent Koscielny was at the head of this list.

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And this summer, he has again said that he would like several different captains, not just one. At present, those players are Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil, and Granit Xhaka. The latter of the trio was named the captain for Sunday night’s defeat to Barcelona when all three started together, suggesting that, in Koscielny’s absence, he is the lead man.

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Indeed, after the match, Xhaka himself was asked about being handed the armband. As any good leader would, he moved the glory of leadership away from himself and cast it across the squad:

"“Nobody has spoken about the captain’s armband. The coach hasn’t decided but if I have the armband of course I will be happy. It’s something special but in the end, we have to all be captains on the pitch and outside out of the pitch because we need everyone.”"

Regarding his character, Xhaka is a very capable leader. He was a captain at Borussia Monchengladbach before he arrived in north London, was heralded for his personality, self-awareness and leadership during his childhood, and has shown his leadership skills throughout his time at Arsenal, his communication, commitment and attitude providing a crucial edge to what is usually a soft, vulnerable team.

However, there is just one problem with Xhaka being named what seems like the lead captain: he is probably going to play. Although Emery has named several captains, looking for different individuals to lead the squad in different moments, Xhaka seems to be the frontrunner, and that suggests to me that is going to start almost every game that he is available for.

Now, I do not mean to completely demean his qualities. He is a sound midfielder with a specific skill set that can be extremely useful to a team, especially when he is given time to pick his passes from deep. But while he has been integral to the Arsenal midfield in recent seasons, with the anticipated development of Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira, the emergence of Joe Willock in this pre-season, and the ground-breaking signing of Dani Ceballos, is the Swiss international good enough to demand a starting role?

I am not saying that he should never start, but by ostensibly making him the leading captain, it is not unreasonable to conclude that Xhaka will start every single game that he is fit for, and given the options now available, I am not sure that should be the case.

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Xhaka is a decent player of high character. There is great use for that type of player to remain in the squad. But should he be playing every game? I certainly have my doubts, whether he is the captain or not.