Arsenal: 3 vital Granit Xhaka traits to replace

2. Granit Xhaka’s Stability in Midfield

It is time to move on from Xhaka. His most staunch critics have been saying so for a number of years. They’re not inexplicably wrong.

That doesn’t mean Xhaka doesn’t offer Arsenal anything. Far from it. In the second half of last season he was the best player at the club behind the effervescent duo. Following that red card against Burnley he turned up and had the best six months of his career in north London.

Yet when Arsenal were without him they crumbled. Disintegrated into a boneless body; a mess.

Such stability is an unavoidable trait even for those who have the champagne at the ready. Having the Swiss in the pivot with Partey adds a composure and a clarity of thought. That is abandoned once he departs. There is no structure, control or guidance.

Far from the best Arsenal can be, the disjointed muddle they can slip into without Xhaka’s presence is less a heralding of him and more a damning indictment of the ceiling of this team.

Which is why who comes in has to be able to impose himself from the get-go. An instant fit who reinforces the spine, adds what his predecessor brought to the party with dashes of improvement in other areas and their own skillset.

Energy, dynamism and a commanding figure who complements Partey and offers the bridge between defence and attack, nothing reminiscent of an Emery-esque chasm of emptiness begging for a simple transition.

Easy, right? Most definitely not. It’s a darn hard checklist that won’t be filled out.

Stability, however, has to be.