After failing to splash the cash on a single outfield player last season, Arsenal were quick out the blocks in late May with the acquisition of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach.
The midfielder arrives at the Emirates on a long-term contract for a fee believed to be in the region of £35 million and, having been afforded an extended break due to his Euro 2016 exertions with Switzerland, joined in full training last week.
In an interview with the club’s official website, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger explained the reasons behind snapping up the new boy:
“[Xhaka brings] his passing ability to play through the lines from deep positions, his work rate, and he’s good in the air. He’s a young boy as well, 23 years old. There’s a lot to come from him. We lost three midfielders: Flamini, Rosicky and Arteta, and numbers-wise we are quite solid in midfield now. Elneny had a big impact when he came here, Coquelin was injured for a long time and is back. Cazorla will come back, Wilshere is back… so we are solid in midfield.”
After completing his move, the 23-yeard-old – who had a habit of incurring the wrath of Bundesliga referees – hopes his all-action style of play will be more suited to the English top-flight:
“I remember I was young and the first game I watched was in the Premier League. It’s a big dream for me and now that I’m here I am very, very happy. I like the style of football in the Premier League. It’s aggressive and I like the way Arsenal play football. It’s not like other countries but it’s very nice here. In Germany you can play aggressively but the referee will always blow his whistle, but in England that’s not the case. That’s better for me. I like to play football. I’m an aggressive player and also a leader. I’m only 23 but I captained a good team in Germany.”
The History
A product of the Basel youth system in his native Switzerland, Xhaka made his first-team debut in 2010/11. Over the course of a couple of seasons, the midfielder produced two goals and four assists in 44 league outings, helping his side collect back-to-back league titles before sealing a move to MGladbach in May 2012.
Xhaka spend four years in Germany, delivering six goals and three assists over 108 league outings. He’s also played a total of 37 matches in Europe for the Bundesliga side and fared a little better in the final third, serving up four goals and a trio of assists.
In terms of discipline, Xhaka’s combative style of play earned ten yellows and a red card in 2013/14 and 2014/15, whilst he was booked five times and sent off on three occasions last season.
On the international stage, the Arsenal new boy served up eight goals in 43 appearances at youth level for Switzerland. He’s since turned out 44 times for the senior side and found the net on six occasions.
The Prospects
Given the hefty outlay, you’d expect the new boy is earmarked for a regular role in the Gunners’ double-pivot in 2016/17.
Xhaka’s excellent distribution and ability to orchestrate play from deep were very much in evidence over Euro 2016 – the playmaker was second only to Germany’s Toni Kroos in the centre of the park for both touches and passes over the first four rounds of fixtures as Switzerland lost to Poland in the Round of 16.
Looking at the underlying numbers from last season, though, Xhaka offered little in terms of attacking threat for Borussia, with a shot every 71.8 minutes and key pass every 107.6 minutes. It’s fair to say that, unless he’s handed a fair share of dead-ball duties, Xhaka’s impact in the final third looks somewhat limited.
Crucially for the north London outfit, Xhaka will add a real physical presence in the centre of the park.
His total of 67 successful tackles was more than any Arsenal midfielder last term, whilst 76 interceptions is level with Francis Coquelin, who was joint-top for Wenger’s midfielders in 2015/16. The new boy’s ability in the air also stands out. Xhaka won 94 aerial duels last term – again, that’s more than any of his new midfield team-mates.
With Xhaka set to be installed to the starting XI, Wenger has a real dilemma on his hands in the centre of the park, with Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere and Mohamed Elneny also vying for minutes.
The likes of Cazorla, Ramsey and Wilshere could potentially be afforded a role in the attacking midfield three slots, though again, the competition is fierce.
With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil nailed on, the aforementioned trio would battle it out with Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Campbell and (when fit) Danny Welbeck. Given that Sanchez and Ozil cost 11.0 and 9.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), we’ll be hoping that a cheaper player can emerge to offer strong value alongside them in Wenger’s attack.
Despite of his lack of attacking output, the 5.5-priced Xhaka has so far been snapped up by over 6% of FPL managers – the fifth most-owned at 5.5 and under. Given that his acquisition would take up one of our three available slots for Arsenal players, though, that popularity seems a little questionable.
Despite a tough couple of opening clashes against Liverpool and Leicester, Arsenal are ranked as having the third most favourable schedule over the first 10 Gameweeks, with clashes against Watford, Hull, Burnley, Swansea, Middlesbrough and Sunderland on their agenda.
Xhaka’s addition in front of the back-four suggests the Gunners will again be amongst the more resilient sides on offer, having finished joint-top with united for clean sheets last term on 18 apiece. This, in turn, should bode well for the prospects of Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny and company. next time around as Wenger looks to improve upon last term’s second-placed finish.
