Granit Xhaka is the only one left out of the five players under Unai Emery's captaincy crew last summer. The Swiss footballer has been playing the full 90 minutes in two out of three Premier League matches of the Arsenal. Of these games, Xhaka wore the armband, but a new report claims that the 26 years old football player is emerging as the biggest problem of the Spanish football manager.
Granit Xhaka is a significant member of the Arsenal squad. He is well-informed and dignified in interviews and exhibits strong leadership skills to his peers. Before Arsenal FC's opening home game this season, the Swiss footballer was assigned to write the customary captain's notes during the pre-match program despite that he is not yet given the full-time position. According to Metro, in spite of this all, Xhaka does not seem to fit the club's style on the pitch as evident in Emery's effort of injecting further energy and pace into the team during summer.
There is no question about Granit Xhaka's passing ability but the question is about his suitability to fill the role in Unai Emery's midfield considering that he lacks the required attributes to execute the high-octane performance. In the most recent game where the team lost to Liverpool, it is evident that the game seemed to pass Xhaka by. The 26 years old player seemed to be unable to adapt to the tempo of the game.
According to Metro, it is strange that Granit Xhaka spent the formative and peak years of his football career in two of the most physically demanding and quickest leagues in Europe, the Premier League, formerly known as the Bundesliga and the La Liga yet mobility and pace are not part of his skill-set. The Swiss footballer has an intensive rudimentary disciplinary record.
In the past six seasons at the Premier League, Granit Xhaka collected 51 yellow cards. This means, its one in every 3.6 matches and a bigger portion of those are fouls called on players who have run passed him in midfield. Xhaka is really struggling when the opponent is in an attacking move, particularly when the rival launches a quick attack after regaining possession of the ball.
Because of Granit Xhaka's powerlessness to cover ground, his defense is often exposed. While his defensive dearth is nothing new in his game, he tends to mask it by overcompensating in other areas to keep his value to the team. His passing is outstanding in terms of range and accuracy.
