"It shocks you he plays every week" - Paul Merson is positively surprised that Arsenal star is a regular despite lacking world-class skills

Arsenal have never had a player who divided opinion like Granit Xhaka. The midfielder is not very popular with a large section of the fanbase. However, that has not affected his reputation within the squad as he continues to make the starting XI whenever available.

Arsenal legend Paul Merson, while writing in his column for The Daily Star, questioned why Xhaka has hardly ever been dropped from the starting XI. The former player wrote:

"Every manager that comes in at Arsenal plays Granit Xhaka, he plays virtually every game. Has he ever been left out for any length of time? That tells you a lot."

Merson believes that the Switzerland international must be showing his managers something they need from him to earn a regular starting berth. He continued:

“He must have something about him because he doesn’t make goals, he doesn’t score goals, he’s not going to hit you with a 60-yard pass. I don’t mean to be horrible but he still plays every week. So, every manager who has managed him must see something there."

Xhaka was also given the captain's armband permanently in the 2019-20 season when Unai Emery was in charge of Arsenal. However, the midfielder had an unsavory experience early on in the season against Crystal Palace where he was booed by the fans as he was being substituted.

This resulted in an outburst as the Swiss international took his shirt off and tried to rile up the fans in the stadium by cupping his ears. Merson highlighted the incident and is shocked that despite all this, Xhaka is among the first names on the team sheet. He wrote:

"He’s captained the club and he must have a big voice in the dressing room. But obviously, he lost that after having his row with the fans. I wouldn’t say he is underrated. Sometimes, it shocks you he plays every week. But he gives 100 percent all the time. I never look at Arsenal’s teamsheet and think: ‘Oh my god, Xhaka’s playing.' So, I don’t have a problem with him playing every week."

While there are many critics of the 29-year-old, few can doubt his passion for the game although his fiery nature has gotten him into trouble on numerous occasions. Xhaka has made 242 appearances for the north London club so far and has received 65 yellow cards and four red cards.

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Arsenal without key players as the battle for top-four heats up

The Gunners have lost Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey to long-term injuries. The left-back's season is over due to a knee injury and chances of the defensive midfielder returning before the end of the season look bleak.

Mikel Arteta's team is in fifth position with 54 points and are trailing local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently fourth, three points ahead.

Arsenal do have a game in hand over Spurs but their fixture list includes tricky games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham as well. The Gunners will travel to Saint Mary's Stadium on Saturday to face Southampton as they look to pick up three crucial points.