Granit Xhaka: 2019/20 Performances

[Riou]

Yeah when I'm not arguing with people or hating our players/club I can offer up some half-decent opinions.

You are one of the stalwarts of Arsenal Mania, without doubt!

Ramsey is clearly a top CM though...

 

[Football Manager]

You are one of the stalwarts of Arsenal Mania, without doubt!

Ramsey is clearly a top CM though...

Because he stays at the very top of our formation (so he is a top CM?).
He never comes back helping, leaving huge gaps for counter attacks, and Xhaka had to deal with 3-4 attackers which was supposed to shared between them. Lost a lots of goals like that because of him. For every important goal, he cost us three goals. Top CM.

Not staying back/not involve in defending=no mistakes in defending. Top CM.

His technical ability is **** too. We can’t play build up possession football with him too. He lost the ball as easy as walcott. When the opponent is pressing and we have all these “off the ball only” players, we are like 7 against 11 in possession.

Without ramsey we control the game a lot better. More possession, more chance created, less goal conceded.

 

[Oxeki]

I think agility and pace is something a DLP falls back on but they don't need it as Xabi Alonso, Kroos have shown. I do agree with you on his inability to release the ball quickly but I don't think its a huge problem, I think the setup is a bigger one.

For example I don't think someone like Rodri is particularly quicker or more agile than Xhaka. He just always has options around him, so can make a quick decision when faced with a press. A lot of the time he's already decided who he's passing to before he's even gotten the ball. If that's not the case and he is pressed, he can probably turn in three different directions and have a a blue shirt around him.

Xhaka on the other hand will be receiving a pass and have all his options marked before he's even controlled it. He then might turn left, see a marked option, turn right and see nobody then turn around a third time but by then the pressing forward has got him. Overly simplified but yeah.

I agree with you partially about the structural issue of the team. But Xhaka's ineptitude extends far beyond that. For example you if you leave Xhaka one on one with an opponent, that's a potential disaster and the fact that I've seen him fecked up some simple 5-10 yard pass that have resulted in us conceding goals.

That's not due to structural issues. It's a deficiency on the part of Xhaka either mentally or technically.

Cazorla used to slide through opponents' press and ride throw challenge like a surf board. Xhaka does have a good pass in him but he tends to be only able to execute said pass when given plenty of space.

I'll concede that he's our most 'undroppable' CM which in of itself is not a ringing endorsement of him, but a damning indicted of how bad our squad is.

If we had Partey and another quality midfielder next to him, his weakness won't be as glaring but we don't have the luxury of surrounding him with top CMs.

He's a huge part of the reason why our midfield is not functioning. But he brings more to the team than the other ****e like Ceballos and Guendouzi.


Hopefully, we flog him and get a better younger replacement

 

[Marjorie]

Because he stays at the very top of our formation (so he is a top CM?).
He never comes back helping, leaving huge gaps for counter attacks, and Xhaka had to deal with 3-4 attackers which was supposed to shared between them. Lost a lots of goals like that because of him. For every important goal, he cost us three goals. Top CM.

Not staying back/not involve in defending=no mistakes in defending. Top CM.

His technical ability is **** too. We can’t play build up possession football with him too. He lost the ball as easy as walcott. When the opponent is pressing and we have all these “off the ball only” players, we are like 7 against 11 in possession.

Without ramsey we control the game a lot better. More possession, more chance created, less goal conceded.

The Ramsey and Xhaka partnership of 17/18 isn't one I look back at with many happy thoughts.

 

[Oxeki]

The Ramsey and Xhaka partnership of 17/18 isn't one I look back at with many happy thoughts.

Terrible partnership!

Ramsey bombing forward leaving a defensively inept Xhaka behind

 

[Football Manager]

The Ramsey and Xhaka partnership of 17/18 isn't one I look back at with many happy thoughts.

Same weaknesses applies whoever he partners.

 

[Football Manager]

He is the perfect replacement for xhaka:

Suggested this guy on the wish list in the past, don’t think he is available now, was a good candidate for replacement too:

Agree?

 

[#254]

https://eplfootballmatch.com/sheffield-united-vs-arsenal-full-match-fa-cup-28-june-2020/4/
https://eplfootballmatch.com/sheffield-united-vs-arsenal-full-match-fa-cup-28-june-2020/2/

Thanks mate.

 

[#254]

Because he stays at the very top of our formation (so he is a top CM?).
He never comes back helping, leaving huge gaps for counter attacks, and Xhaka had to deal with 3-4 attackers which was supposed to shared between them. Lost a lots of goals like that because of him. For every important goal, he cost us three goals. Top CM.

Not staying back/not involve in defending=no mistakes in defending. Top CM.

His technical ability is **** too. We can’t play build up possession football with him too. He lost the ball as easy as walcott. When the opponent is pressing and we have all these “off the ball only” players, we are like 7 against 11 in possession.

Without ramsey we control the game a lot better. More possession, more chance created, less goal conceded.

Ramsey was clearly a top CM, just that we did not play into his strengths as we do with many of our players. If only he could play as the most advanced CM and not an 8 and had proper players playing the 8 and 6, he would have been really phenomenal. If he, for instance, was the most advanced CM in the current Liverpool team, he'd score ****loads.

Now, I admit that he wasn't the best technically but ****, the guy is our highest scoring CM despite being shafted across different positions! If that isn't top quality, especially when you've had Petit, Viera, Edu, Fabregas level CMs in the past, then I don't know what is.

 

[Football Manager]

Ramsey was clearly a top CM, just that we did not play into his strengths as we do with many of our players. If only he could play as the most advanced CM and not an 8 and had proper players playing the 8 and 6, he would have been really phenomenal. If he, for instance, was the most advanced CM in the current Liverpool team, he'd score ****loads.

Now, I admit that he wasn't the best technically but ****, the guy is our highest scoring CM despite being shafted across different positions! If that isn't top quality, especially when you've had Petit, Viera, Edu, Fabregas level CMs in the past, then I don't know what is.

He was **** technically. And there’s no point for him scoring 1 and cost us 3 at the back.

 

[#254]

He was **** technically. And there’s no point for him scoring 1 and cost us 3 at the back.

Technical ability or not, he was the best CM we had before his departure. His replacement should never have been first priority. This guy scored important goals in important games more than he cost us goals in those games. I don't know about you but I'd love to win those.
If a guy gives you goals, you try and mask his deficiencies because goals win games.

 

[Football Manager]

Technical ability or not, he was the best CM we had before his departure. His replacement should never have been first priority. This guy scored important goals in important games more than he cost us goals in those games. I don't know about you but I'd love to win those.
If a guy gives you goals, you try and mask his deficiencies because goals win games.

Do you know why Barcelona had a lot of goals. How could they have such a high possession percentage? Do you know why did they have so many chances created?

They had xavi to control the game, he played the game with his brain. Their team ticks because of him.

If scoring goals is that important to you then please have Leno, holding and saliba staying in the opponent box waiting for scoring opportunity, 90mins every game. I’m sure they will score more goals than any defenders had in the history.

 

[#254]

Do you know why Barcelona had a lot of goals. How could they have such a high possession percentage? Do you know why did they have so many chances created?

They had xavi to control the game, he played the game with his brain. Their team ticks because of him.

If scoring goals is that important to you then please have Leno, holding and saliba staying in the opponent box waiting for scoring opportunity, 90mins every game. I’m sure they will score more goals than any defenders had in the history.

My god.

 

[Football Manager]

As a midfielder, you make the team ticks, so your attacking players score more.

Ramsey makes the team disfunctional and score some goals. This is a crime for a midfielder. You make your team create less chances and concede more

 

[Football Manager]

Leaving: Elenny, Ceballos, Özil, Mkhitaryan, Guendouzi

Staying: Xhaka, Torreira, Willock

Buy: Tonali, Aouar, Szoboszlai

Play more Burton/Matt Smith instead of willock

 

[RacingPhoton]

I think agility and pace is something a DLP falls back on but they don't need it as Xabi Alonso, Kroos have shown. I do agree with you on his inability to release the ball quickly but I don't think its a huge problem, I think the setup is a bigger one.

For example I don't think someone like Rodri is particularly quicker or more agile than Xhaka. He just always has options around him, so can make a quick decision when faced with a press. A lot of the time he's already decided who he's passing to before he's even gotten the ball. If that's not the case and he is pressed, he can probably turn in three different directions and have a a blue shirt around him.

Xhaka on the other hand will be receiving a pass and have all his options marked before he's even controlled it. He then might turn left, see a marked option, turn right and see nobody then turn around a third time but by then the pressing forward has got him. Overly simplified but yeah.

I think that's the point of debate here. My view is that it is not the lack of options that causes him to make the errors. Most errors I have seen have been due to the time he takes to execute the pass.
He looks up, checks someone available for a pass. There is a delay from that moment to the moment he executes the pass. By that time anyone can figure out what he was going to do and in some circumstances, the pass is easily cut off.
Its his slowness in executing the pass that results in gifting the ball to opposition.
It's his lack of pace in running that results in making too many fouls.
And about the penalties he has conceded due to rash tackles, who is there to blame?
Remember, even midfielders in relegation fodder have not committed the same number of mistakes that Xhaka has. Do you think their set up is much better than Arsenal?

 

[Big Poppa]

I think that's the point of debate here. My view is that it is not the lack of options that causes him to make the errors. Most errors I have seen have been due to the time he takes to execute the pass.
He looks up, checks someone available for a pass. There is a delay from that moment to the moment he executes the pass. By that time anyone can figure out what he was going to do and in some circumstances, the pass is easily cut off.
Its his slowness in executing the pass that results in gifting the ball to opposition.
It's his lack of pace in running that results in making too many fouls.
And about the penalties he has conceded due to rash tackles, who is there to blame?
Remember, even midfielders in relegation fodder have not committed the same number of mistakes that Xhaka has. Do you think their set up is much better than Arsenal?

It confuses me how people watch how much more fluid teams that we used to call top 4 rivals are in their build up play from deep and yet have not only normalised but celebrate this.

Our single biggest problem on the ball is a lack urgency and tempo. Saw someone mention Rodri and Alonso - their first touch and speed of thought is the reason their lack of pace is much less of an issue.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Can’t believe people actually rate Ramsey as a top CM, he had to take 10 touches to control the ball ffs. He was basically a midfield Theo Walcott.

 

[Corbulo]

If I was Xhaka I would join Andre-Pierre Gignac in Mexico and win the league with Tigres. He has many glaring deficiencies to be a regular starter at a top club. Even when he has all the time in the world, his passing is not even that good or spectacular.

Xhaka may be our best CM but it just shows just how far Arsenal have fallen. A mediocre player who told us to f*ck off has just walked back into the team and finished the last game with The Arsenal's armband on his biceps.


Just like Big Poppa mentioned: first touch and speed of thought. Once we'll have someone with at least one of those attributes our midfield will smell again like freshly cut grass.

This Platini goal perfectly illustrates what someone with quick thinking is able to do. Instead of dwelling on the ball, scanning the pitch, looking for his teammates, he comes up with an amazing decision which eventually ends up in goal: first touch and speed of thought.

 

[Riou]

If I was Xhaka I would join Andre-Pierre Gignac in Mexico and win the league with Tigres. He has many glaring deficiencies to be a regular starter at a top club. Even when he has all the time in the world, his passing is not even that good or spectacular.

Xhaka may be our best CM but it just shows just how far Arsenal have fallen. A mediocre player who told us to f*ck off has just walked back into the team and finished the last game with The Arsenal's armband on his biceps.


Just like Big Poppa mentioned: first touch and speed of thought. Once we'll have someone with at least one of those attributes our midfield will smell again like freshly cut grass.

This Platini goal perfectly illustrates what someone with quick thinking is able to do. Instead of dwelling on the ball, scanning the pitch, looking for his teammates, he comes up with an amazing decision which eventually ends up in goal: first touch and speed of thought.

What are all those defenders trying to do