Arsenal: 3 underrated players from this season

It’s safe to say this Arsenal squad has underperformed this season. Every player has played their part in what has been a disastrous campaign for Mikel Arteta’s men. From goalkeeping howlers and defensive lapses in concentration to lack of chance creation or conversion, showings have been inconsistent and uninspiring.

Out of the Europa League at the hands of their former manager, crawling their way towards barely a top half Premier League finish and breaking numerous records this season for statistics more painful than the last, 2020/21 hasn’t been fun.

Wins away at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge ended years of pain, but it says a lot about the season when the news of Willian potentially departing in the summer was met with arguably more fanfare than a decade-long wait for three points in west London.

The Arsenal players worthy of praise this season can be counted on one hand. Numerous consistently poor individual performances or wildly inconsistent ones, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe can finish this campaign with their heads held high, but not many others.

3 underrated Arsenal players this season who deserve more credit than they have received in a miserable campaign

There are a few players, however, who received a (somewhat) undeserved amount of criticism this season, more so than their performances merited. The underrated few.

3. Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka is one of several players who has experienced something of a revival since Arteta took over. Under the latter part of Unai Emery’s time at the helm, Xhaka looked as if he was on the way out. Poor showings on the pitch combined with his being ostracized by fans culminated in the explosion against Crystal Palace.

Arteta, however, has squeezed the best from the Swiss midfielder since.

A more stable defense (without the error-prone Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac duo behind him), along with the mobile presence of Thomas Partey has allowed Xhaka to excel to a level previously unseen in north London. At least not for a while, anyway.

His skills on the ball have come to the fore and his ability to control games has been sorely missed, most noticeably against Villarreal. Arsenal have been an unstable mess without him.

While he may have hit his ceiling this season, he has performed consistently throughout. Arteta should certainly move him on should the opportunity arise but Xhaka will leave as a dedicated professional who gave his all for the club and one of the better performers of the season.

2. Nicolas Pepe

This season has seen a marked improvement from the record signing – the brief moments of quality have been smoothed into a more consistent attacking threat.

Nicolas Pepe’s mindless sending off against Leeds seemed to have helped him reevaluate what he needs to do to help the team. It looked certain to be the final nail in the Ivorian’s coffin, coming off the back of an ‘indifferent’ start to the campaign, but it’s been an upward trajectory since.

Pepe has exhibited finer finishing, more composure and technique in using his right foot, while the defensive commitment Arteta commands has been prevalent. His drive to make a difference has allowed fans to see a much more well-rounded version of the Ivorian winger. His work rate has been superb of late.

Arteta’s tactical tinkering to move him to the left side of the front line has allowed him to whip in some excellent crosses and to be more unpredictable for opposing defenses, where the spaces he assumes can be used to greater effect.

£72m is an exorbitant amount for any player and while Pepe will never live up to that price tag he can still contribute to a team facing a tumultuous time.

1. Rob Holding

Rob Holding is one of few leaders on and off the pitch. He is unquestionably not one of the most technically gifted or skilled players to don the red and white but he will do everything he can to help the team. His commitment and desire has never, and can never, be questioned.

The Englishman is prone to lapses in concentration and is extremely limited on the ball, however. He has contributed to a somewhat less porous defense this season, mind you, with Arsenal boasting the third best defence in the division and Holding playing his part in that with 28 Premier League outings this season.

His height and ability in the air is a welcome quality in the defensive third, too, as well as a threat in the opposition’s box – but if one of those mountain of headers was on target that would be welcome for a change.

Holding will not elevate Arsenal to the next level. That’s for sure. Yet as a senior member of the dressing room who will leave everything on the pitch and lead vocally, he may still have a place in the squad as a dependable backup option.

He is quite similar to Nacho Monreal in some ways: a safe, solid option who will provide consistent 7/10 performances and fill in as needed. Nothing more, nothing less and as long as he’s not our long term starter, that’s OK.