3 players who could replace Granit Xhaka at Arsenal

Ganit Xhaka has had his best Arsenal season to date, as he has adapted to the left-eight position with ease and embraced the requests of Mikel Arteta.

Xhaka’s football intelligence combined with his five Premier League goals and seven assists have made him the perfect partner for Martin Odegaard in attack, with his positional understanding allowing him to cover defensively when required.

But, the rumours of a move to Bayer Leverkusen won’t go away, with Xabi Alonso reportedly seeing him as a key cog in his project, and Xhaka’s wife is said to be keen on a return to Germany. The latest reports suggest the Swiss midfielder will leave the club at the end of the season, but who could replace him in north London?

3 players who could replace Granit Xhaka at Arsenal

1. Youri Tielemans

The Leicester midfielder was heavily linked to Arsenal last summer, but reports suggest the fee demanded by the Foxes exceeded expectations for a player in the last year of his contract.

Links re-surfaced in January, and Arsenal are once again said to be admirers of him, with his contract expiring this month, given his proven ability in the Premier League. However, there are some obvious concerns with this move.

Firstly, Tielemans is not the most energetic player. He presses intelligently but doesn’t have the engine or fight of Xhaka, and he hasn’t played as a left eight often, with Leicester predominantly using him as a right eight or a six.

Alongside this, he’s also badly out of form and looks disinterested at present, so Arsenal would be taking a chance that a move offered a reset for him. All in all, this one seems more like a shrewd backup as it’s hard to argue that he improves the starting quality of the team, despite his vast technical qualities.

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