Arsenal: Let’s resolve this Granit Xhaka business quickly

Arsenal and Granit Xhaka may be headed for a messy divorce after all, but let’s hope not. The quicker this can find a resolution, the better.

The fact that Granit Xhaka is being tipped as the player most likely to leave Arsenal in the coming months if literally making me want to vomit, but I’ll keep all that inside for now—literally and figuratively—and talk practicality.

Against Bournemouth, in Mikel Arteta‘s first match in charge, Granit Xhaka showed up. I mean he showed up. He was an easy man of the match and given what Arteta had said before the match, there was hope in the prolonged future of club and player.

Just hours after that result, quotes from Xhaka’s agent surfaced indicating that a deal had been struck with Hoffenheim to see the midfielder depart in January. So, like, in a couple of days. And just like that, sobriety kicked in. After seeing Xhaka perform so well yet again, how would this midfield get along without him if he left in just a few days?

Apparently, Mikel Arteta has made it clear to Xhaka that he must stay until the end of the season. Which is great for a lot of reasons, not just on the pitch. But the problem is that this also reportedly made Xhaka quite angry, as he’d want to leave earlier.

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This is a problem. Xhaka is a hugely influential player, whether you want to admit it or not, and it’s imperative that he stays not just useful, but happy. Because he can change the face of a match, no doubt about it.

You also don’t want this to get messy. By all rights, Xhaka deserves to leave. After everything that went down with fans, even I had written it off. Just let him go, for the sake of everyone. But then I was tantalized into believing that he could come back and repair the damage. If that can’t happen though? You have to let him go.

Even if that means in January, then trusting Matteo Guendouzi and Dani Ceballos to carry on in Xhaka’s role.

That said, Xhaka is a professional if there ever was one, and I don’t think we’d see him refusing to play, or pouting on the pitch. That’s just not how it is.

But this needs a resolution. It can’t drag on and sap away at the morale of the club. Whatever that happy medium is, find it.