3 reasons why Arsenal should not sell Granit Xhaka

Xhaka has become one of Mikel Arteta’s go-to men. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

3. Positional understanding

Right now, Arsenal do not have any players who have the positional sense of Granit Xhaka off the ball in the left-eight position, and that has been highlighted when Fabio Vieira has played in his place.

Vieira is someone who looks significantly off the pace in the Premier League, and going into next season with him as the backup for a Mason Mount or a Declan Rice is a big risk given the importance of off-the-ball positional play in Arteta’s well-coached system.

Leverkusen working on a transfer of Granit Xhaka. They would have to pay a double-digit million fee as Xhaka‘s contract with Arsenal running til 2024 with 1-y-option. #AFC want to strengthen midfield, Caicedo and Rice being targeted. [@berger_pj] #afc pic.twitter.com/buEeK3EiqF
— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) May 9, 2023

There has been talk of Arteta training Emile Smith Rowe to play that role, but even more talk that he could be a surprise sale, and with his injury record, he is an even bigger risk than Fabio Vieira at this time.

Upgrading on Xhaka is certainly the next step in the project for Arsenal, but upgrading shouldn’t mean that the current option is sold. After all, we’ve seen the success of having Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney as backups this season, and they were two crucial starters this time last year.