Arteta’s Arsenal midfield transfer hint with Granit Xhaka

Arsenal passed test one of their 17-game challenge when they held on to a 1-0 win over Wolves despite being reduced to ten men.

With no other competitions to tackle this campaign the focus is entirely on the Premier League, a position that prompted Mikel Arteta and co to streamline the squad down to 20 senior players in the January window.

That group contains small clusters of players for each position, notably in central midfield where the starting duo of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka are supplemented by Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny.

If all runs smoothly then the weekly league matches will see Partey and Xhaka remain unmoved in the centre, a partnership that if held together has the capacity to lead Arsenal back into the Champions League for the first time in five seasons.

Arteta’s Arsenal midfield transfer hint comes from Granit Xhaka’s role as a freer No. 8 style player to complement Partey’s No. 6 qualities

When the summer comes around that area of the pitch will be bolstered – with or without elite European football – and the usage of Xhaka in recent months offers a hint towards the profile of player that Arteta desires.

The double pivot is gradually merging closer to a single operative. Partey has taken on the more iconic No. 6 slot, with Martin Odegaard to his right on the angle and, more recently, Xhaka doing likewise to his left.

This freer No. 8 style role isn’t quite the classic box-to-box position, one someone of Xhaka’s mobility is not best suited to, but there have been clear tactical differences in how the Swiss works in tandem with his Ghanaian partner.

Sambi’s usage also provides an indicator to future transfer preferences as the Belgian, especially alongside Xhaka, is utilised in the deeper central role. As time progresses it is more apparent that Arteta sees Sambi as the backup/heir to Partey. His passing range from deep, and adept progression through the lines both with carrying and distribution, are suited to role.

Xhaka’s long-term future with Arsenal is far from certain. When the new midfielder that everyone hopes to make the move to north London does arrive it’s growing more likely that their profile will be one that can operate on the left in a less defensively demanding role in a formation that gravitates to a 4-3-3.

The desire for positional fluidity with roles not defined by their historic names and instead by patterns and interchangeability means Arsenal are never blanketed with one particular formation. But the midfielder who does arrive is sure to be someone adept at progressing the ball from the left and, equally likely, can do so with their left foot.

There is a different balance to this Arsenal team, one developed as the season has gone on. Xhaka’s role in that is the one that Arteta will aim to either upgrade on, or improve on.