The redemption of Granit Xhaka

Soccer /

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how Granit Xhaka’s role has evolved over the last 18 months or so. The different deployment of Xhaka has been a really interesting novelty at Arsenal de Arteta. What is arguably even more interesting is how well he has adapted to this new role.

On Sunday, Xhaka wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Martin Odegaard. Even a year ago, the idea of ​​the Swiss officially captaining the team again felt too much like a political hot potato to entertain. Even if, unofficially, or in the eyes of his teammates, Xhaka’s senior leadership role within the group never really diminished.

In fact, Arsenal’s Twitter handler felt comfortable enough with the current temperature around the player to post a photo of his shirt and captain’s armband. As the second half wore on in west London and Xhaka played in the area of ​​the pitch close to the away support, the fans constantly chanted for him and saw an obvious rise in performances from him.

Everyone loves a redemption arc and Xhaka’s makes Arsenal fans feel warm and fuzzy. I have never doubted that Xhaka is a player more appreciated by the coaches and teammates than by the fans; but the Arsenal fans are not experiencing a collective hallucination. He is receiving applause because he is playing better than he has at any time during his six years at the club.

Once again, the relationship between player and supporters that, not too long ago, was at Cold War levels of tension, is fully repaired. To the point that the Arsenal account could post a tweet asking fans to show their love for the player without fear of reprisal. Xhaka posted a humble video thanking fans for their great love from him.

So what has driven this improvement in his performances? I think there are some factors. The presence of Thomas Partey at the base of the midfield is undoubtedly a very important factor. Before Arteta switched Xhaka from six to eight on the left, the Swiss was the center of midfield, receiving the ball from his central half and distributing it.

The problem was that Xhaka was often susceptible to pressure. Playing at the base of midfield also meant that he was responsible for a very large space in defense which, in my opinion, did not correspond to his athletic profile. Xhaka is now responsible for a pitch slide instead of a large circle.

He now operates at left back, mixing with left back and left back at different phases of the game. Crucially, it means that when he has to run back to win the ball back, he’s dealing with a smaller space and not the last line of defense. We have often seen him exposed and as a result he makes rash decisions out of possession.

Partey has an athletic profile more suited to dealing with that space and has lowered Xhaka’s stress levels off the mark. Arsenal are a young team but in Partey and his usual backup, Mohamed Elneny, the team has two contemporaries of similar age and experience level to Xhaka. In a soft factor sense, I also think Xhaka now has a preferable lead role as well.

With the departure of experienced players such as David Luiz, Alex Lacazette, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Sokratis, Bellerin, Mustafi, Leno and Özil, all senior players who had trouble adjusting to Arteta’s demands, Xhaka’s leadership role is clearer. now. He is the longest-serving member of the starting lineup and has survived the draft of veteran players (even if that seemed highly unlikely at one point).

It is a young team and he is, obviously, the oldest figure in it, due to age, experience, seniority in the club and personality. While I think the decision to make Odegaard captain was the right one (in general I think young teams should be captained by a younger player – look at the difference between Gallas and Fabregas as natural authority figures circa 2008), he has It absolutely makes sense that Xhaka is a big part of the leadership group.

It is also a good reward for the player, an acknowledgment that he has rehabilitated his reputation at the club and should make him a source of inspiration for other players. In a football sense, I think he is more suited to being a more reactive player within the system, a foot soldier than a general. He is not in charge of setting the pace tactically, but is asked to help keep the temperature up.

His own improvement has also been aided by the team’s overall improvement, especially on the left side of the pitch. Oleksandr Zinchenko effectively replaced Nuno Tavares and Gabriel Jesus replaced Alex Lacazette. Both of these trades make Arsenal a much better team, but that has a particular impact in the Xhaka area of ​​the pitch.

Xhaka and Zinchenko have understood each other from the start and the Ukrainian’s presence means Arsenal are technically safer. While Lacazette was static to the point where his feet took root, Jesus likes to drift down the attack line, especially to the left wing, which, in turn, allows Martinelli to move upfield.

With this attacking pattern around him, Xhaka has been able to take strong positions in left midspace, with the opposing defenses much more occupied by the exchange of Jesús and Martinelli. We saw this at Brentford on Sunday, even before his very good slashed assist for Jesus, a foot loss to Martinelli denied Xhaka another good assist from that space.

Xhaka has always talked about his creative gene, in this interview with The Guardian from November 2017, he describes himself as “a false 10, a 10 that plays further back”. The framework that surrounds it is improved and that drives individual improvement. Exactly the same could be said for Martinelli this season, that he looks like a much better player alongside Jesus and Zinchenko/Tierney than he does alongside Lacazette and Tavares.

Now Xhaka is riffing with Zinchenko/Tierney, Jesús and Martinelli and that has guided his improvement. The player deserves immense credit for keeping his head down and quietly improving after what seemed like a point of no return when he cursed the Emirates crowd and threw his captain’s armband to the ground in October 2019.

It was an example of his impulsiveness and, therefore, he doubted that he could ever accept a reduced tactical role in the team (in 2020-21 he averaged 85.6 touches per 90, last season he dropped to 68.2). He has more responsibility in a cerebral sense in a young team and in a tactical sense the team have reduced their reliance on him in terms of volume but given his current form he has probably never been more important to Arsenal than he is. . now.

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