Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has now been ranked amongst the best players in the world when it comes to doing one vital thing.
Granit Xhaka has continued to impress since leaving Arsenal.
The Swiss midfielder’s final campaign at the Emirates Stadium was by far the most impressive of the seven that he spent on the books with the north London club.
Having been moved into a more advanced position than ever before by Mikel Arteta, the 31-year-old found a new lease of life as a left-eight. Last season, across all competition, Xhaka racked up nine goals and seven assists.
This reinvention as a more attack-minded player was the culmination of Xhaka’s renaissance at Arsenal. After all, his career with the club was an up-and-down affair to say the least, as at one point his reputation with the fans seemed to be utterly unsalvageable.
Arteta deserves huge credit for the role he was able to play in coaxing the best out of Xhaka and rehabilitating his Arsenal career. Xhaka himself has since heaped praise on the Arsenal boss.
Despite this, the Gunners still opted to cash in on the 121-cap Switzerland international in the most recent summer transfer window. He was sold to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £21.4 million.
Was Mikel Arteta wrong to let Granit Xhaka leave Arsenal?
He has continued to shine since his switch to the Bundesliga. With Bayer Leverkusen, Xhaka has reverted to playing a more deep-lying role, where his ability retain position in tight, congested spaces has made him a crucial figure in Xabi Alonso’s team.
In fact, when it comes retaining possession of the ball in high pressure situations, so far this season Xhaka has been successful in doing so 91.6% of the time, according to data from Football Observatory. This makes him the fifth-best player at keeping the ball in such circumstances in world football.
When it comes to players who ply their trade in Europe, only Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos, Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, and Manchester City’s Rodri are more successful at protecting the ball when under intense pressure. Xhaka ranked ahead of Declan Rice, who boasts a still impressive 89% success rate in this metric.
It has to be questioned if Arteta made a mistake in letting Xhaka go. Especially considering his nominal replacement in the Arsenal squad, Kai Havertz, has struggled to impress consistently so far since his arrival from Chelsea.
Equally, Arsenal might have sold Thomas Partey instead in the summer, as he was the subject of interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia. The Ghanaian’s departure would surely have left enough room in the squad for Xhaka to remain at Arsenal. As it turned out, though, Partey was the one who was kept, yet he has barely featured for the Gunners this season as his perennial injury issues have all-too-predictably returned to haunt him once more.
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