Make no mistake, Arsenal desperately need players to replenish the squad. Having not invested in an outfield player last summer – the only club in Europe’s top five leagues to do so – Wenger eventually made just one signing in Mohamed Elneny. With the experienced trio of Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini set to leave, Wenger is short of midfielders.
Enter Granit Xhaka. The 23-year-old Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder has been linked with Arsenal as early as January this year. And reports suggest he is closer to signing with the north London club this summer.
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But not many fans know much about the Bundesliga player. We list out a few things fans must know about the Swiss international.
1) What is Xhaka’s best position?
At Borussia Mönchengladbach, Xhaka has become a midfield general in the centre of the park. He is a very good passer of the ball – one of the best in the Bundesliga for short passes – and is not averse to playing long diagonal passes from deep to find his wingers or attacking full-backs.
Xhaka also makes himself a nuisance to midfielders by blocking the passing channels and intercepting passes before teams threaten to attack. Standing at 6’1”, he is also strong in the air to deal with aerial duels in midfield. His spatial awareness and movement off the ball will also be beneficial to Arsenal’s style of play.
He would be the ideal partner for someone like Santi Cazorla in midfield. While Cazorla is focused on building attacks and circulating the ball, Xhaka can do his bit while also breaking down attacks and even initiate his own when the need arises.
When Ottmar Hitzfeld was in charge of Switzerland, he spoke about Xhaka and likened him to German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.
“I see similarities between Granit and Bastian Schweinsteiger, whom I promoted to the first team at Bayern Munich when he was 18,” Hitzfeld had said. “He is extremely mature, highly intelligent, reads the game well and has good technical skills.”
Xhaka also has a mean left foot with which he has scored a few piledrivers, sometimes from more than 30 yards away!
2) Xhaka can get a bit reckless
While he is a solid player at the base of midfield, Xhaka is also not exactly a tidy player. Xhaka is not one of the fastest players on the pitch. Teams tend to try and expose that weakness by getting midfield runners to run at him.
He also has trouble keeping his temper in check at times. Although he finished the season with only 5 yellow cards in the Bundesliga, the worrying stat is the three red cards. Nobody else in the league had three (Wolfsburg’s Dante had two while the next highest was just one).
One notable incident that comes to mind is when he deliberately kicked Darmstadt midfielder Peter Niemeyer in an off-the-ball squabble. His reaction after the incident is also worrying as he looked to square up with Niemeyer as the referee gave him his marching orders and sent him off for an early shower. However, he did make up for it by donating €20,000 to a local charity.
At 23, he is hot-headed with teams looking to exploit that in games by provoking him. If Wenger signs him up, he must ensure he keeps a calm head in the hustle-bustle of the Premier League.
3) Granit plays for Switzerland but his brother plays for Albania
Xhaka’s parents are originally from Kosovo, but they moved to Basel, Switzerland where Granit was born. Football runs in the family and his elder brother Taulant Xhaka, one-and-a-half years older than him, is a defender.
Both players started their youth career at FC Concordia Basel before moving to FC Basel in 2002. They have played for various youth teams and broke into the senior team two years apart. While Taulant still plays at Basel, Granit moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012 for a reported fee of €8.5m.
Although both players played for Switzerland at the youth level, Taulant chose to represent Albania on the international stage and made his debut in 2014. However, Granit chose to play for Switzerland and the two brothers now play for different teams.
What’s more, they will come face-to-face in France at Euro 2016. The summer tournament sees Albania and Switzerland in Group A alongside hosts france and Romania and the two brothers will be in different kits when they face off in Lens.
4) Xhaka is a natural leader
Borussia Mönchengladbach had their worst ever start to the 2015/16 season when they lost the first five league games to leave them dead last. Manager Lucien Favre resigned soon after and Andre Schubert took over. With their captain Tony Jantschke injured, the first thing Schubert did was to hand the armband to Xhaka just a few days before his 23rd birthday.
“We chose Granit because he is a very important player for us,” Schubert had said. “He has quality but must also learn to take responsibility.”
The move worked wonders as Mönchengladbach stormed back into the race for Champions League spots. Xhaka led from the front, even scoring in his first game as captain. Under his leadership and Schubert’s tactical nous, Mönchengladbach eventually finished fourth and qualified for the Champions League playoff round.
To lead a team at just 23 is no joke. Wenger did the same thing with Cesc Fabregas and even though he didn’t have the necessary support in terms of quality players around him, the Spaniard did inspire them to top four finishes and Champions League football.
Xhaka can be a player entrusted with leading the team when the time comes and Wenger obviously needs a few more experienced and trustworthy heads in the middle of the park.
5) He loves no. 34
If Xhaka does indeed join Arsenal, there are quite a few shirt numbers up for grabs, especially after the departures of Rosicky and Arteta. Provided no.7 and no.8 are not taken by Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil (their numbers for Chile and Germany respectively).
However, Xhaka already has his eyes on no.34. That particular shirt number is not vacant and belongs to another midfielder – Francis Coquelin.
“That [34] was my first professional number at Basel,” Xhaka explained in an interview. “It’s even tattooed on my back. I would also like to wear it in the future.
“At Arsenal, Coquelin has it. I’ve spoken with him. He would like to take another number,” he joked.
Hopefully, Coquelin is understanding and allows Xhaka to take the number. Besides, Arsenal would not want to lose out on a quality player only because he did not get the jersey he wanted!
