Ian Wright suggests the one player Arsenal are badly ‘missing’ right now

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Arsenal legend Ian Wright has now insisted that his former club are still missing the presence of Granit Xhaka.

In the recent summer transfer window, Granit Xhaka brought a rollercoaster seven-year stint at Arsenal to a close by making a £21.5 million switch to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen. 

Xhaka’s final season at the Emirates Stadium was undoubtedly his finest. Reinvented as an attacking midfielder by Mikel Arteta, the Swiss star flourished higher up the pitch alongside club captain Martin Odegaard. 

In his final campaign with the north London club, the 31-year-old racked up nine goals and seven assists across all competitions.

Xhaka was always going to be a big miss. However, the Gunners invested heavily in his replacement. £65 million was spent to prise Kai Havertz away from Chelsea. Whilst he had primarily been used as a striker at Stamford Bridge, Arteta’s plan was clearly to integrate the 24-year-old into the ‘left-eight’ midfield role vacated by Xhaka. 

However, Havertz has struggled to adapt to life at Arsenal and his performances on the pitch have been uninspiring so far. In fact, fellow summer arrival Declan Rice has now been tipped to nail down the ‘left-eight’ position as his own ahead of Havertz.

Arsenal need to find new identity without Granit Xhaka

It is hard to escape the feeling that Arteta could still do with having Xhaka to call on. 

Ian Wright certainly feels that way. Speaking to Premier League Productions (06/11/23, 14:25), the former striker admitted that Arsenal are “missing Xhaka…I think we are missing that dynamic in the game.”

Whilst he had athletic, and at times temperamental, limitations, Xhaka was an excellent foil for those around him. His appreciation of space, passing ability, and the timing of his own runs into the box really knitted Arsenal’s attacking play together last season. 

The Gunners have looked disjointed in the final third often this season. It will take time for them to rediscover their identity without Xhaka at the heart of things. Given the Switzerland international’s age, though, this is a necessary process that was always due to come at some stage.