Are Arsenal ready to move on from Granit Xhaka yet?

Oh Granit Xhaka. The one and only. The undroppable Swiss. The divider of opinions. The receiver of red cards. The boiler of bloods.

The end of an era?

Era is a strong word, but it certainly feels like it. Since stepping through the Emirates doors on 26 May 2016, Xhaka has turned out 225 times for the club, winning two FA Cups.

Arsenal are on a high. Barring trophy success, it’s perhaps their best moment since Mikel Arteta took charge. Going nine games unbeaten in all competitions hasn’t turned the team into world-beaters overnight, and as the manager said, they’ve achieved nothing, but for the first time in his 20-month tenure fans are on board with the direction.

Arsenal look ready to move on from Granit Xhaka with Sambi Lokonga in midfield helping the club to a nine-match unbeaten run – but are they ready?

Boasting a very dissimilar squad – a new-look starting lineup at the very least – to last season, the current trajectory is one of an ever-improving side littered with young players the fans are rallied behind. The team is inescapably likeable and that has transferred into the stands where the support has been magnificent.

Steadily climbing up the Premier League table with a group of players developing alongside one another with each passing week, there is one clear omission: Xhaka. He isn’t here, and he hasn’t been here for eight of the nine matches where Arsenal have avoided defeat – he isn’t directly responsible for the early losses, that needn’t really be said.

Suffering a long-term knee injury that will keep him out until the new year, Arteta’s side will play 11 matches before 2022 comes around and even when it does there are no guarantees that the Swiss will be fit and firing for Manchester City at the hideous kick-off time of 12:30 on January 1.

That is plenty of time to determine whether or not this team is ready to move on from him, or indeed if what Arsenal have at the present time isn’t considered enough to transition away from the 29-year-old.

But things are going rather well. Better than envisaged when Xhaka was in the team for those horror opening three matches where even he was so fed up he opted to issue his own marching orders by forcing the referee’s hand.

In a similar vein to Nuno Tavares’ impressive form meaning Kieran Tierney’s name hasn’t had much of a mention, the general look of the team in Xhaka’s absence and Albert Sambi Lokonga’s continued development has had a similar effect.

Like a moaning eight-year-old desperate to get out of the car: are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Continued on next page…

Key Performance Issue Strengthens Case for Granit Xhaka Return

Many have now seen the light, one that the vast majority had been left to daydream over since one of the few certainties in life is that, if fit, Xhaka will play for Arsenal.

This is a good spell. It’s more than a good spell: it’s a hugely encouraging and progressive spell offering an indication of where Arsenal can go; the team is bursting with youth and the energy and pressing is a welcome byproduct.

So, is there anything that might be keeping the idea of Xhaka in the midfield in the manager’s eye? Well, yes.

In terms of what Xhaka brings to the table aside from experience and leadership over, say, Sambi, is what will have been playing in Arteta’s mind over the past few performances. Against Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Leicester it’s been the periods after Arsenal have taken two-goal leads that will, rightly, be slightly concerning to the boss.

While it’s expected that being two or three goals up will prompt a less adventurous approach from a young side and spark a push from those trailing, the depth with which Arsenal’s lines sink sees them lose grip and control.

As a dominating figure in the heart of midfield, someone to bark and break up, that level of control and tempo will still be seen as a hole Xhaka could help plug. That’s certainly the way the manager may see it.

However, Sambi’s displays are ever improving and the patches of dominance that Leicester had last time out will go down as key learning curves for this young team. Developing individually as well as a group, the time between now and Xhaka returning can see those gaps in display incrementally developed.

The discussion is already being had five games on from his absence. And it’s an argument with results and performances to back it up.

Arsenal are ready to move on from Xhaka, even if it may take a few more weeks to offer a clearer picture. He will be needed urgently during AFCON, no doubt, but if this run hasn’t indicated what can be, the coming run definitely will. The fans are happy, the team looks happy, and the table is less unsightly to gaze at. Long may it continue.