Granit Xhaka appears to be reaching the end of his time with Arsenal. Or so we all thought.
It has been well over two weeks since reports emerged the Switzerland captain was close to leaving the Gunners to join Serie A side AS Roma. And in typical Arsenal fashion, the transfer is yet to be concluded.
The 28-year-old midfielder remains an Arsenal player. And although Fabrizio Romano recently reported that a transfer to Roma is in ‘the final stages’, there’s a feeling amongst supporters that this will be a deal that, yet again, will drag on for months.
Arsenal are yet to sell a first-team player this summer. Even though Matteo Guendouzi, Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira are linked with moves away from the Emirates in recent weeks.
And the Gunners should be working on accelerating these deals. With Xhaka being the first player Arsenal have to be looking at to sell.
Xhaka has outstayed his welcome at Arsenal
As already written on this site in another Insider View piece, Xhaka is a player who has been with the north London side for far too long.
The Gunners have never finished in the top four since the Swiss’ arrival back in 2016. And Xhaka’s mistakes have cost Arsenal dearly over the past four seasons. His red card and rogue back pass in two games against Burnley cost the club six points last campaign alone.
Although Xhaka isn’t the sole reason for the club’s regression since 2016 and the departure of Arsene Wenger, it is a correlation that should be enough of a concern for the club to sell the midfielder.
Mikel Arteta and Edu Gasper are making the right decision to sell him this summer. Yet with the waiting game once against coming into play, the Gunners run the risk of stalling on shifting off a player who Arsenal no longer need for their plans.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
