I am very very skeptical about this one. The guy is a very good player, dictates the game, controls the tempo, gives CB's an option and has a world class long range pass on him but he has flaws defensively.
He's not very mobile and quite slow although he's strong the PL will be a huge test for him from a physical point of view. He's basically a young Alonso who's had tremendous success due to being partnered with physical specimens.
Alonso was always played besides Momo Sissoko/Mascherano and even at Madrid Jose paired him with Pepe/Diarra. This allowed him to get the ball back quicker and distribute forward whilst staying put.
Now let's assess what partnerships could work with Xhaka:
Xhaka-Cazorla - Horrible, out of possession we'd be a nightmare and would take an age to get the ball back. They'd be fantastic in possession though and would evade the press really well but it's not an option.
Xhaka-Wilshere - Both being left-footed I highly doubt we'd use this in a pivot. Wilshere doesn't play well with players that take control of the 1st phase either, see Arteta.
Xhaka-Coq - In tough away games this is a solid option both will sit deep and allow the front 4 to flourish but long-term it'd limit us. We'd lose an extra attacker which I'm sure AW won't want.
Xhaka-Ramsey - This is the one that worries me most and I feel is what Wenger may opt with initially. On paper it's the best partnership but Ramsey is a completely different player to the one in 2013. He has left more mobile partners (Coq, Elneny, Flamini) exposed Xhaka doesn't cover ground too well would suffer besides Aaron. Guy needs to either change his mentality for a WHOLE season or Wenger shouldn't use him.
Xhaka-Elneny - This has huge potential. Elneny is responsible defensively and also supports the attack. He has a huge engine and is also tidy in possession so will be able to give an option to Xhaka. Elneny doesn't really excel in anything in particular though and Wenger may prefer a specialist in something.
For me the best option would be a formation change. Xhaka would be superb in the base of a 3 man midfield. He'd have options constantly in support and would be able to take control in our own half a lot more freely.
Problem is Wenger won't move Ozil wide again and he's never succeeded with a 4-1-2-3/4-3-3 formation so I don't see it.
Overall we're signing a good player but in our flawed system and structure he could suffer a lot. Time will tell, personally I'd look elsewhere at tempo-dictators who can also cover ground quickly (Witsel, Kimmich).
Xhaka Success Depends on Partner
posted on 12/5/16
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
Xhaka has looked better playing alongside Dahoud - who is more a box to box player probably most similar to Ramsey out of our options.
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Yes but Dahoud is a lot more disciplined than Ramsey and still has let Xhaka be exposed. Xhaka's disciplinary record is pretty poor because he's hardly protected and rash.
We're the kings off offering little protection to defensive players. Unless Wenger changes our approach Xhaka could struggle
posted on 12/5/16
comment by batsthegunnerinoz (U18355)
posted 6 minutes ago
Xhaka is nothing special. Only clowns like Inventor who listens to all of twitters wannabe hipsters thinks this is a done deal too. We played our best football when Coq-Cazorla was our CM partnership and I don't see any reason to change that. Cazorla is our best CM
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Actually I've made clear it was bollox for a while but I made this article hypothetically as how Xhaka fits in has become a topic anyway.
Wilshere is better than Cazorla AT CM only fitness prevents us from seeing this obvious fact and wishful thinking to assume 31 y.o Santi comes back the same player after 5 months out
posted on 12/5/16
"...dictates the game, controls the tempo, gives CB's an option and has a world class long range pass on him but he has flaws defensively...."
what?
I promise you one thing....the way De Bruyne scored against us last Sunday wouldnt happen with Xhaka because KDB was lying on the floor instead.
posted on 12/5/16
comment by Gunnerthru (U6675)
posted 5 minutes ago
"...dictates the game, controls the tempo, gives CB's an option and has a world class long range pass on him but he has flaws defensively...."
what?
I promise you one thing....the way De Bruyne scored against us last Sunday wouldnt happen with Xhaka because KDB was lying on the floor instead.
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From a foul? Probably yes as I a said he's rash in the tackle but he won't be much help if he's sent off. The more protection the less exposed he'll be.
Who we play beside him is critical to whether he succeeds or not, if he was to join of course.
posted on 12/5/16
posted on 12/5/16
Probably the first of many "done deals" we will hear about in the summer which are complete BS. Itys the same every year but some people don't seem to learn.
posted on 12/5/16
Which site or stream of tweets did you learn this ITK knowledge of Xhaka from?
Try watching him.
You spout utter garbage.
posted on 12/5/16
What has Wilshere done at Arsenal to sugges that he is better than Cazorla?
I like Wilshere but seriously he has done nothing yet of note while at Arsenal.
Also, without Cazorla, all the creativity sits with Ozil who can be easily marked out of a game. There is no creativity elsewhere
I would still rather see Cazorla and Ozil both on the pitch
posted on 13/5/16
From a foul? Probably yes as I a said he's rash in the tackle but he won't be much help if he's sent off. The more protection the less exposed he'll be.
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Tbh we could do with a few players that will take one for the team and bring a player down. I can remeber at least 2 in the last 6 games which resulted in a goal where we should have bought the player down - Palace and City.
These are not stupid area to bring players down either, they should have been stopped 40-50 yards from goal.
posted on 14/5/16
comment by ArsenalWenger (U7874)
posted 1 day, 14 hours ago
Which site or stream of tweets did you learn this ITK knowledge of Xhaka from?
Try watching him.
You spout utter garbage.
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You absolute moron. Considering there's a huge waankfest over a player that many seem convinced is perfect amonsgt Arsenal fans. This is one of the most balanced reviews you're going to get.
From someone who has watched him for years. Only prople spouting garbage are the ones who think he is Busquets & Makelele in 1.
He has worrying flaws that may be exposed in our system