3 ways Arsenal can fill their Granit Xhaka-shaped hole

3. System change

The third solution would be a system change. Two names in that Arsenal midfield are absolute certainties in my opinion: Rice and Martin Odegaard. If Arteta wants to keep Rice a bit deeper, then maybe the solution could be to give Odegaard a few more defensive responsibilities and allow for another more attack-minded player, like Havertz, ESR or Fabio Vieira, who was seriously impressive against Fulham.

Odegaard has shown defensive prowess and he is always running and pressing. More defensive duties may be asking too much of the Norwegian, but if it can help fit both him and Fabio Vieira into the side, it could be devastating.

Potentially, Arsenal could sign another all-phase midfielder, someone like İlkay Gündoğan, as the transfer market isn’t yet over.

Overall, it’s clear that something is not quite ticking in this Arsenal side and it’s hard to pinpoint their issues down to one thing. Although, the early signs suggest they’re going to miss Xhaka this season. Arteta will need to keep fiddling around to find his solution to the team’s problems, and he must do it soon.