#4 The curious case of Granit Xhaka
Arsene Wenger – a man not exactly known for his spending – shelled out quite the fortune on Xhaka earlier in the summer and the Swiss was expected to be the missing link in Arsenal’s creative heavy midfield. Xhaka is a tough tackling midfielder who sits in front of the back four and has an eye for a pass, exactly the qualities Arsenal needed today against the reigning French Champions.
Francis Coquelin, who has made a name for himself as a midfield destroyer, was caught out of position on more occasions than one and his inability to pick a pass or even circulate the ball is evident to all. Wenger’s aversion to put Xhaka in the starting line-up and his persistence with Coquelin is baffling, to say the least, and one can only hope that the Frenchman shows a little more faith in his new signing.
Xhaka has only started 2 of Arsenal’s 5 games this seasons and against PSG after the introduction of him and Giroud, Arsenal were in much better control and eventually equalised and one is left to wonder what could have been had the Swiss started the match instead of Coquelin. Here’s hoping that Wenger is just giving Xhaka all the time he needs to settle in the team and there’s nothing more to it.
