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Granit Xhaka: Swiss Army Knife or Blunt Tool?

Will Xhaka be here after the summer window?

  • Yes

    Votes: 38 55.1%
  • No

    Votes: 31 44.9%

  • Total voters
    69
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ash10

Chairman of the Bum Brigade
All our players should be asking for the ball and making themselves available for the ball, its up to the person with the ball to decide whether the pass is on.

Xhaka 'mistake' was coming all first half with the way we were moving the ball around in our half in the first half, Xhaka gets all the blame but Burnley were hardly pressing with any intensity yet Leno was featuring heavily in our build up because the likes of Luiz and Tierney weren't making themselves available and when in possession were slow as all hell to pass the ball. Even if you look at the goal we conceded the back pass from Tierney to Mari took an internity to get to him, then when Leno receives the ball he takes a couple of touches gives Burnley more chance to push higher up the pitch.

Yes Xhaka should have done better once he received the ball but the big picture isn't this goal is Xhaka doing, its as a team we need to be much faster on the ball and get the ball into our attacking third and control the game from there. Not be pushed back into our own penalty box.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
 

Mrs Bergkamp

Double Dusted
Dusted 🔻
Well what to say? He can't handle any kind of press and that wasn't even the best. Wood closed a passing lane but a hoof with his right to Chambers and at worse, it goes put gor a throw. He's not a baller at all. He's a plodder. People forget that Emery charged a baby Guendouzi with the job of coming deep as soon as he made the first team and you can see why. He could even have played a lofted pass to his left. There's nothing serviceable that we couldn't get from another player and by having him, it puts more pressure on every player around him. I'm waiting for him to blame the forwards for not scoring- like 1-0 to the Arsenal wasn't a tradition. Utter garbage player and should be the first out of the door in the summer.
 

Tom349

Active Member
So Leno, Tierney and Luiz are to blame for Xhaka's mistake? Okay, fine. With that logic Xhaka should have scored those chances we created at the end.

Of course they're just as guilty. Look at how the play unfolds that leaves Xhaka in a vulnerable position, it wasn't because Burnley executed an amazing press, it was on our laziness in possession on and off the ball and the guy who ultimately made the mistake was the only working to make himself free for the pass.

Im not excusing Xhaka as he should have done better, but Im also not going to beat him up over one mistake. Pepe miss was just as bad of mistake but the same energy won't be used, same with Auba and Saka misses.
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
I honestly didn’t think they'd be that shameless tbh
Some guys here just seem to defend some players no matter what. Just don't get it. Not after having to stand watching Xhaka for 5 long years. As if that isn't punishment enough. It must be clear to everyone what we cannot build a successful team around this player.
 

Lidl_Reed

Wants a new name
The likes of Xhaka can't hack it in the Premier League. They don't have the physical quality, and there's a reason we don't see many DLP's in the PL. He can ping a good ball but if he loses it, he can't recover. He has no pace at all. Add to that his rash decision making and general lack of footballing intelligence, I can't see him ever succeed for us. But sure, let's hope he does well next to Partey.

My issue with that is that in the PL your best midfielders are either absolute destroyers like Kante, Gilberto and that ilk, or box to box midfielders like Lampard, Gerrard, Vieira, or creatively amazing and technically brilliant like KDB, Silva, Cazorla.

Xhaka does not fit in any of these categories. He's the sort of player you don't see in the PL and for good reason
Called it btw
I just don't get what he's good at. He has no pace, his passing and distribution is not up to the mark, he makes constant mistakes and he can't dribble forward or create, his long shot is decent but not fantastic and the few times he does pings balls around happen too rarely to be celebrated.

Will Xhaka going make us a top 4 team? No, but then Elneny going wouldn't make us a top four team either.

Had we bought Kante instead of Xhaka, we'd be a top 4 team and Arsène would still be here
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
Well what to say? He can't handle any kind of press and that wasn't even the best. Wood closed a passing lane but a hoof with his right to Chambers and at worse, it goes put gor a throw. He's not a baller at all. He's a plodder. People forget that Emery charged a baby Guendouzi with the job of coming deep as soon as he made the first team and you can see why. He could even have played a lofted pass to his left. There's nothing serviceable that we couldn't get from another player and by having him, it puts more pressure on every player around him. I'm waiting for him to blame the forwards for not scoring- like 1-0 to the Arsenal wasn't a tradition. Utter garbage player and should be the first out of the door in the summer.
Or if Xhaka could simply make a 180 degree turn with the ball at his feet, which he cannot, he could have done that and hoofed it up out of danger. This is what you get when you play him in that position. He cannot play facing his own goal. Any pressure or difficult situation and he is often absolute toast.
 

RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
You know what's funny, last week Xhaka made a mistake which led to a goal just like today. The only difference was that we won last week and drew today. Now, maybe that's on his teammates for not taking their chances that we are in this predicament but the one thing that remains constant is that Xhaka done something stupid. People last week we're telling me " so what" when I brought up the error because he recovered well after the mistake but herein lies the issue. Too many times we don't hold players accountable during "good patches". The Xhaka we saw last week is still the one we see today. Stop thinking he's gonna morph into a Top midfielder and you won't have to go quiet every so often.
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
Of course they're just as guilty. Look at how the play unfolds that leaves Xhaka in a vulnerable position, it wasn't because Burnley executed an amazing press, it was on our laziness in possession on and off the ball and the guy who ultimately made the mistake was the only working to make himself free for the pass.

Im not excusing Xhaka as he should have done better, but Im also not going to beat him up over one mistake. Pepe miss was just as bad of mistake but the same energy won't be used, same with Auba and Saka misses.
Okay, whatever... You clearly see things differently. Please just then don't complain that we are mid-table as that is where we will sit with players like Xhaka starting game in and out. Besides his usual number of points costing 'mistakes' he makes our play up the pitch slow as molasses.
 

Ash10

Chairman of the Bum Brigade
Some guys here just seem to defend some players no matter what. Just don't get it. Not after having to stand watching Xhaka for 5 long years. As if that isn't punishment enough. It must be clear to everyone what we cannot build a successful team around this player.
Players like Pepe have redeemable qualities so I understand him having fans but I genuinely don't understand what people see in this guy. Five years of absolute mediocrity at best & crap like today at worst but still singing praises whenever they get the chance
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
Stop thinking he's gonna morph into a Top midfielder and you won't have to go quiet every so often.
Think that has been 100% clear for years now, that this isn't going to happen. Those who defend him really baffle me. Just as it baffles me how Arteta can keep on playing him. Should have been offloaded ages ago.
 

RacingPhoton

Established Member
Just a reminder of how bad he has been.

In less than 5 years, in Premier League alone, Xhaka has
9 errors leading to goals.
5 penalties conceded.
3 red cards.

Even if we take these stats conservatively, we can safely say that Xhaka has been sabotaging at least 2 matches every season for us. Are his fanboys really going to say that Xhaks hasn't played a part in Arsenal dropping out of top 4 ever since he joined us? How can we carry a player like him every season and still expect to qualify for CL?
 

CaseUteinberger

Established Member

Country: Sweden
Players like Pepe have redeemable qualities so I understand him having fans but I genuinely don't understand what people see in this guy. Five years of absolute mediocrity at best & crap like today at worst but still singing praises whenever they get the chance
I am with you mate! Don't understand it at all. I could understand fans supporting Özil to the end as he was a top top quality player and had an upside. But ****ing Xhaka? Just unbelievable.
 

Sapient Hawk

Can You Smell What The Hawk Is Cooking?
Trusted ⭐

Country: Saudi Arabia
We so should have let him go. To me keeping Xhaka around is Arteta's biggest mistake so far. With him playing we are anchored in mid-table.

Of all the mistakes he's made, this is the most damaging. Xhaka hampers our buildup play & offers nothing in the way of defensive stability.

Arsenal's worst signing of the current century.
 
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