Arsenal: 12 Granit Xhaka transfer replacements

Denis Zakaria – Borussia Mönchengladbach

A wanted man. It appears Denis Zakaria’s time is up at Borussia Monchengladbach.

It’s not been the best of seasons at Monchengladbach, for anyone, as Marco Rose announced with the season underway and it severely impacted performances. For Zakaria, he battled his way back from a horrible long-term injury at the start of the season, missing close to a year of action before making his return.

Torrid knee problems have limited his output this season to only 15 Bundesliga starts and he hasn’t look anywhere near his best. His passing numbers are still very respectable with reassuring completion rates at all lengths, but there hasn’t been the usual No. 6 capabilities with dashes of No. 8 thrown in.

On song, he’s among the best young(ish) holding midfielders in Europe. From a defensive standpoint he covers the spaces behind the forwards, breaking up play and bursting into life to start swift breaks, just as the German side like. He also likes dropping in between the central defenders to create multiple lanes of attack, which would open up Partey slightly advanced on the angle he and Xhaka create.

Should they alter in their roles, then the Swiss’ (replacing countryman with countryman) brutal ball carrying ability can come to the fore. It’s an interesting marauding style he has that doesn’t look like it should work as well as it does. He would add significantly more pace than Xhaka, not that anyone can be much slower.

With just a year left on his deal he’s available for a measly €20m, which is pittance for the 24-year-old. It’s just very tough to look past form and injuries. Arsenal don’t need that.