Granit Xhaka: Swiss Army Knife or Blunt Tool?

[Red London]

I never understood why Mkhitaryan wasn't playing better / more for us? We even had Auba here whom he had partnered with very successfully with at BVB. I was hoping he would rekindle that run of form here.

Mkhitaryan never really got a team who wanted to build around him in the PL. He was brought into Mourinho’s United (who is basically the grim reaper of creative players who don’t have a lot of physical attributes) and United are too big a club to have such patience.

By the time he came here he was lacking confidence. And again; we didn’t really prioritise him understandably.

I think in the PL he was a Everton / current Aston Villa level player. He needed to play centrally in the physics PL where fullbacks are monstrous pace and physical wise. He also needed an arm around him and was the type of player to need to feel wanted.

Was really good in Bundesliga and in Serie A last season, just wasn’t a PL player and overall was a disappointment here.

 

[Football Manager]

I never understood why Mkhitaryan wasn't playing better / more for us? We even had Auba here whom he had partnered with very successfully with at BVB. I was hoping he would rekindle that run of form here.

As you can observe here:
All the stuff he does are minimalistic and simple. He is not capable to make it complicate enough for the defenders. The basic attribute of a winger is to dribble past your man. He can’t even do the basics.

You can see how bad a player mkhitaryan is compare to this:

 

[tactica442]

If the club does another one-year extension on the wanna-out Xhaka, I will consider this transfer window a failure.

 

[Gooner416]

If the club does another one-year extension on the wanna-out Xhaka, I will consider this transfer window a failure.

So our transfer window is a failure because we hypothetically extend our best midfielder last season who was in tremendous form at the Euros rather than sell him for 10M and day old lasagna?

 

[A_M Iniesta]

Roma why are you taking long!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GunnerShy]

Roma apparently signing Rui Patricio (33yr, 1 year left on contract) for €10m + €3m.

Bought Smalling for €15m at 30 years old.

Took Mhiki on a free and offering ~€15m-18m for Xhaka.

Part of me says, fk em. If they won't get to ~£20m walk away.

 

[Taneruit]

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Harsh to leave out Neves imo

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

To think that even Veratti and Jorginho who won the thing couldnt compare to our Xhaka

 

[Sanchez11]

Are you sh1tting me?? So why we got one team lowballing us, for this great player?

 

[Taneruit]

To think that even Veratti and Jorginho who won the thing couldnt compare to our Xhaka

To be fair, both he and Pogba got in for Switzerland-France. Which were the best midfield performances in the tournament (imo). It was just a step above.

Midfield and goalkeeper wise the Euros had plenty of shoutouts for a team of the tournament.

 

[TheArsenalis]

Roma apparently signing Rui Patricio (33yr, 1 year left on contract) for €10m + €3m.

Bought Smalling for €15m at 30 years old.

Took Mhiki on a free and offering ~€15m-18m for Xhaka.

Part of me says, fk em. If they won't get to ~£20m walk away.

we conduct our business as planned, even if signing a player that would replace xhaka

 

[MartiSaka]

I just think a group of you go around focusing on one particular player to focus your frustrations on until they leave then you move onto the next. Acting like their departure magically fixes the team.

You would think some of you would clock when Özil left and we were still a laughable club, but the Xhaka hate just intensified on these boards after one of his better individual seasons.

The team is running out of Muslims to wish away and I genuinely expect this behaviour to continue - so I personally wouldn't put it down to religion. For the majority of you anyways.

Xhaka doesn't start himself or convince himself to stay but the amount of ire his way is actually exasperating. For the record, I think we should have pulled the plug on Xhaka years ago, but the clubs problems are bigger than him - he will simply be replaced with another plodder as the way we are playing is by design not accident.

This last paragraph, concerned we are not actually going to upgrade upon him and spend a lot of money not doing so.

 

[Jury]

Or it could be a simple as some people think Özil and Xhaka are actually good footballers and Mikel is rather incompetent having finished mid table.

Your religious and racist conspiracy theory because some posters don’t agree with you is a bit Trumpesque and has no place on a multi racial forum.

Edit: I think the mods should take that post down.

But all he did was counter @Macho ‘s baseless troll reverse-Trump suspicion with his own, yet you’re pulling him and saying his post should be taken down when it’s Macho’s dogshit inflammatory post that actually deserved to be taken down.

Why do mods (@albakos) allow these posts? Why is one miserable troll allowed to come along and point fingers at nobody in particular in a clear attempt to get a rise whilst hiding behind admin like a coward?

People should only be allowed to take others to task on this forum as and when they see examples of hateful stuff, and thats it. I could go on about how poor it is but wtf, it’s pointless

 

[Jury]

More odd than the criticism of Xhaka on AM I find the extreme defense of him and e.g. Özil by a number of posters. I have arrived at the conclusion that a fair amount of it from certain posters is based on ethnicity and religion and their assumption that criticism against those players is based on racism against Muslims. That strong/blind defense regardless how poor performances are then draws a reaction by others and on the circus goes…

Therefore I doubt Auba will generate nearly as much debate on AM. He is an African Christian and will therefore not have this defense brigade at his side. His whole personality also doesn’t lend itself for dislike. He just seems like a happy go lucky guy, but we will see.

I actually think the Arteta hate on AM the most strange. I have a feeling several posters have equated him to anti-Christ. He is like Biden for the MAGA lot here in the US. At same time an absolute fool and an evil genius plotting to destroy Arsenal!

Auba’s already get a fairly large army of detractors on here, so it won’t take much for that to grow with a bad start to the season.

Anyway, I find the rotten subject of who the next AM ‘victim’ will be so ****ing inane, boring and toxic that I’ll just leave it here and hope moderation attempts to keep a more positive vibe going into the new season.

 

[Erlis]

More odd than the criticism of Xhaka on AM I find the extreme defense of him and e.g. Özil by a number of posters. I have arrived at the conclusion that a fair amount of it from certain posters is based on ethnicity and religion and their assumption that criticism against those players is based on racism against Muslims. That strong/blind defense regardless how poor performances are then draws a reaction by others and on the ci

What is your problem mate?

Özil is a football legend, and Xhaka is one of the best midfielders in the world. I think it is you actually who are attacking Özil and Xhaka for the reasons that are not football and are biased towards people who like them.

I know that Özil is a religious practitioner but I think Xhaka is totally irreligious regardless of his background. You are some biased *****.

 

[Erlis]

People like you should not be allowed in football forum where the players and posters come from the different ethnic, national and religious background. It is for your own good I am thinking.

Accusing posters for being this and that due to your biased imagination deserves nothing less than a ban. Take also the mods of this forum with you.

 

[Jury]

People like you should not be allowed in football forum where the players and posters come from the different ethnic, national and religious background. It is for your own good I am thinking.

Accusing posters for being this and that due to your biased imagination deserves nothing less than a ban. Take also the mods of this forum with you.

Did you really just post this?

 

[Makingtrax]

Auba’s already get a fairly large army of detractors on here, so it won’t take much for that to grow with a bad start to the season.

Anyway, I find the rotten subject of who the next AM ‘victim’ will be so ****ing inane, boring and toxic that I’ll just leave it here and hope moderation attempts to keep a more positive vibe going into the new season.

I don’t think Auba has many detractors. His record speaks for itself. Yes, goals for Arsenal have dried up like a prune in the sun. But I’ve watched Auba and Lacazette scampering around our own box helping out the defence more times than is healthy. You’re not going to get many goals that way even if the manager and his simps are pretending he’s got the defensive side sorted. You’ll just end up mid table.

 

[Alexs]

Ronaldo in the team of the tournament? Just shows how bad Mbappé, Kane and Morata were I guess.