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Granit Xhaka: 2019/20 Performances

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Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
The same people consistently ****ting on Xhaka amd acting as if he’s gonna be replaced any second now.:rofl:

Meanwhile we have a manager that praises him more than any other so far and even wanted him at Man City while he was there.:facepalm:

Hate to break it to you guys, but Xhaka will still be played regulary (if less) next season. :rolleyes:

This is not a competition for trolling or trying to prove agenda merchants wrong.

It's about seeing Arsenal get better and playing inspiring and entertaining football.

With Xhaka at the base of midfield, it is not going to happen. He is simply a limited player without a high ceiling.

He is not the sort of player you build your midfield around if you're hoping to compete for the league and to get past the group stages of the Champions League.

No hate on him, some players simply aren't good enough. If we keep signing the Xhakas, Mustafis, giving Luiz a contract extension, giving Soares a contract extension before he even plays a game here lol, and now in for Willian, we won't go very far. It'll be 6th-10th spot in the league potential with all those bums.
 

moloso

Active Member
I wrote this guy off totally in the immediate aftermath of that Palace game and I'm more than happy to hold my hands up.

He's not the answer in terms of title winning but the turnaround in his performances has been staggering. His biggest problem was clearly a lack of confidence/belief, when he goes for a tackle he actually believes he can win it - that split second difference means he isn't constantly late into tackles or aimlessly pulling people down. On the ball same story, doesn't just fall down when pressed, doesn't look as slow or ponderous on the ball as he's not terrified of losing every physical battle or race.

Would be interested to hear from someone who did rate him before as he's a totally different player for me and It's not just a tactical switch, although that's obviously a massive factor.
 

NZgunner

Active Member

Country: New Zealand
I can't help but feel that the people rating Xhaka are doing it on the basis that he hasn't made any costly mistakes in recent weeks - although he came ****ing close in the first couple of minutes of the cup final.

If you watch our games (not just highlights) and focus on Xhaka's involvement it is there for everyone to see - 19 times out of 20 he opts for a safe sideways or backwards pass, he never makes himself available when we're trying to play out, and he is so easily bypassed by the opposition midfield. The one thing he has started to do well recently is block shots on the edge of the area.

He will always be too slow and ponderous for the premier league - we cannot continue to limit ourselves with mediocre players like Xhaka.
 

EmeryCouldnt

Established Member
I can't help but feel that the people rating Xhaka are doing it on the basis that he hasn't made any costly mistakes in recent weeks - although he came ****ing close in the first couple of minutes of the cup final.

If you watch our games (not just highlights) and focus on Xhaka's involvement it is there for everyone to see - 19 times out of 20 he opts for a safe sideways or backwards pass, he never makes himself available when we're trying to play out, and he is so easily bypassed by the opposition midfield. The one thing he has started to do well recently is block shots on the edge of the area.

He will always be too slow and ponderous for the premier league - we cannot continue to limit ourselves with mediocre players like Xhaka.

He is still certain to get caught in possession or give away an EASY pass in dangerous positions atleast twice in a game and to give away a pointless or lazy yellow card.

Xhaka has been relatively solid for us. He’s not our worst problem specifically, but he’s a big reason why our midfield is so easily overrun and why our defense is frequently left unshielded.

I do think he will only improve under Arteta. Maybe Xhaka stays, but we are going no where without midfield improvements.
 

Aubamagoal

Member
I wrote this guy off totally in the immediate aftermath of that Palace game and I'm more than happy to hold my hands up.

He's not the answer in terms of title winning but the turnaround in his performances has been staggering. His biggest problem was clearly a lack of confidence/belief, when he goes for a tackle he actually believes he can win it - that split second difference means he isn't constantly late into tackles or aimlessly pulling people down. On the ball same story, doesn't just fall down when pressed, doesn't look as slow or ponderous on the ball as he's not terrified of losing every physical battle or race.

Would be interested to hear from someone who did rate him before as he's a totally different player for me and It's not just a tactical switch, although that's obviously a massive factor.

I rated him but was expecting him to leave after the incident. That he stayed and is playing well is reedeeming and well received.

Xhaka is flawed when we're defending but when we're on the ball is when he shines. His passing range and decision making are great and his slow turn on the ball is compensated by an ability to progress play. He's always a good passing option, and can play competent one-twos acting as a wall.

Hopefully his defensive game improves as he still has room to grow. I would like to see Xhaka lift more trophies for Arsenal.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I am very happy with how he turned it around and he has been very important post restart. In all our big games where we played a deep block he's been solid defensively and has shown great spirit.

Still, I would sell him this summer if possible for several reasons. First, I don't want to continue the partnership of Ceballos & Xhaka due to their lack of mobility and creativity. Second, Ceballos on loan and selling Xhaka would open up funds to strengthen significantly in different areas. Third, in order to go back to the top and become that beautiful technical side Arsenal is known to be, we need to upgrade our midfield to players that can play out from under pressure. Fourth, I'm still a bit scarred by all the mistakes he's made. Fifth, his revival will up his fee and I think he wouldn't do as well in a 4-3-3
1) Why do people praise him for his defending?

His main job is to ping those long accurate pass, dictating the tempo, distributing the ball around to make the team tick.
His passing game recently is not improved/worsened, he just performed at his normal good standard.

Don’t understand why people start to praise him because of his defending. Seems they like to ignore any of the passing aspect of the game.
 
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Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I can't help but feel that the people rating Xhaka are doing it on the basis that he hasn't made any costly mistakes in recent weeks - although he came ****ing close in the first couple of minutes of the cup final.

If you watch our games (not just highlights) and focus on Xhaka's involvement it is there for everyone to see - 19 times out of 20 he opts for a safe sideways or backwards pass, he never makes himself available when we're trying to play out, and he is so easily bypassed by the opposition midfield. The one thing he has started to do well recently is block shots on the edge of the area.

He will always be too slow and ponderous for the premier league - we cannot continue to limit ourselves with mediocre players like Xhaka.
2) And why people criticised him for making sideway/backwards passes?

He did make sideway/backwards passes, but he also makes forward passes too. We build from the back, of course we will play quite a few sideway/backwards passes before we progress the ball up. We keep possession at the back, invite their midfielders/defenders to commit the press, and we exploit the space left behind. You don’t make the forward pass before we opened up space.

And also, does he have to make forward pass all the time, even though our forward passing options are all being tightly marked?

You don’t make forward pass for the sake of it, it is more about passing options. If you don’t have available passing options, slow down, make a sideway pass and keep possession, we can then progress up the field patiently, just look at prime Barcelona.

This is what dictating the tempo/setting the attacking tempo for the team is all about. If there is a counter attack opportunity, go quick, make a direct long pass. If everyone are being marked, slow down and make a short pass (can be a sideway pass) to slowly build our way to the final third. As long as we keep possession, we will create chances, it’s all good. Making a forward pass to players being marked is stupid. And this decision making requires good game reading ability, you don’t go quick all the time brainlessly like lampard/gerrard. Be tactical and intelligent, learn from scholes and carrick.
 
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Oxeki

Match Day Thread Merchant
Trusted ⭐

Country: Nigeria

Player:Saliba
I think Xhaka is the way to go if we want to always play on the back foot and stay camped in the edge of our 18 yard box.

But if we want to dominate teams and play on the front foot, we need to do away with him.

I'm really happy with the effort he put in the FA cup final. But if that performance was the absolute best that Xhaka is capable of, then dread the future of our midfield.
 

Symbia

Active Member
I still think he's not being used to his strength.
Xhaka's strength is his rocket shot and passing, a bit like aging Lampard. Both lacks athletism and sound technique but great shooters.

Xhaka is supposed to be very useful against bottom table teams that defend deeper, arrive late, hit or pick the pass and move back.
He is clearly not a defensive midfielders and should be nowhere near our box.

He is too rash in challenge and always slow to react.
 

krackpot

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
Not sold on him.

Really indebted to his performances and his resilience, but I think it is time for him to move on while he still can.

We need to aim higher if we want to progress beyond an also-ran.
 

RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
Let's say we get all the midfielders that we're linked with Willian, Cellabos on loan, Partey, Coutinho and ESR back on loan. Is Xhaka a starter?
My theory is if we continue with the back 3 then there's no reason to bench him but I feel like Arteta wants to move to the back 4. So the question is, is it a 433 or a 4231?

With the 433 I definitely see Xhaka being dropped in favour of Cellabos. I could see a Cellabos-Partey-Coutinho midfield 3. That is probably the best use of our midfield to deal with issues of creativity. I don't believe Xhaka is suited to a lone pivot role in this system and he does not have the creativity to be one of the interiors. Hence why I see him being dropped. Arteta has spoken how he wants more goals in midfield and I think he wants 2 attacking 8's in the half space to create.

Now for the 4231. I think Xhaka could start along side Partey, similar to how Arteta set up when he first arrived. Thus would basically mean Coutinho comes in for Özil and Willian starts on the left pushing Auba to the 9 role. I think this midfield is balanced but the creative onus lately becomes focused on Coutinho while Willian can help he's not a truly creative player plus neither Xhaka or Partey from deep will help in the creative department. So while it's good defensively. It has more cons than pros. So it's probably best that we use the 433 and bench Xhaka.
Any one else think differently?
 

RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
That class of Bennacer, Jeff, Malen and Gnabry could have been something real special. Almost everyone is better than the counterparts we have today.
Bennacer > Xhaka and Torreria
Jeff > Willock and Özil
Malen > Lacazette
Gnabry > Pepe
 
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