Xhaka and ?

[say yes]

Thought it would be interesting to have a poll on this now Cazorla is out.

Xhaka is our best CM and should be nailed on for the rest of the season: who partners him?

Don't think there's an easy answer - each of Coquelin/Elneny/Ramsey have fairly obvious limitations.

 

[carlito'sway]

Xhaka/Elneny is the first choice.
Then Xhaka/Coq.

 

[SuperGoon]

Honestly don't know.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Honestly don't know yet.

 

[krengon]

I'd continue with Coquelin.. He's having a great season and I'd like to see how that partnership looks over a decent sample size..

 

[say yes]

Worth saying that you can change your vote, as it's very tough to call at the moment.

Although result so far is fairly decisive..

 

[RUS arsenal]

I think it is pretty obvious and the West Ham game showed exactly why. Coquelin is limited in his intermediate to long range passing but he is great at stealing the ball, keeping it, dribbling and finding the early short range pass if available. Cazorla gave him that and it worked wonders and today Xhaka did as well and again it was a joy to watch.

No doubt in my mind.

 

[SYS]

Coq for the moment till Jack is back

 

[Nyctophobia]

Predictable vote by @rich 1990

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Coquelin worked fine today. will it work next weekend? hopefully!

 

[Penn_]

After seeing how open we are we Coq/Elneny-Xhaka then Ramsey is definitely a no go.

 

[Iddi]

Xhaka is good at passing but there after has not convinced me yet.. Seems to have the same center of gravity as Mertesacker.. Slow and turns like a tank

Not sure about all of our current midfilders (apart from Cazorla).

 

[Garrincha]

Good mix of individuals but no pairing jumps off the page.

Love to know what the original plan with Xhaka was.

 

[Gooner Zig]

Koke

 

[Pointless Eggplant]

Vieira.

 

[field442]

Xhaka is good at passing but there after has not convinced me yet.. Seems to have the same center of gravity as Mertesacker.. Slow and turns like a tank

Not sure about all of our current midfilders (apart from Cazorla).

He's a decent tackler when not diving in like a lunatic and makes a good number of interceptions. He's also not as slow as people make out. Ignoring all that he should still be in the side for his passing alone. Our transition from back to front is on another level with him in the side.

 

[Gooner Zig]

He has a high number of tackles and interceptions so I really don't get this "apart from his passing" business or "his defensive positioning needs work".

At worst, he gives you incisive passing in midfield, that's a good as a base you can get from a CM. His recent performances have been much more than that, offering plenty of successful tackles and interceptions.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

He's also nowhere near as slow as people would have you believe.

 

[Gooner Zig]

He's also nowhere near as slow as people would have you believe.

People saying he's slow is just confirmation bias really.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Wilshere he is the perfect partner for him but we will leave that for next season.

This season Xhaka - coq for away games Xhaka-Ramsey in home games