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May 17th , 2024

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Sterling Gh

A year ago

GRANIT XHAKA'S SIGNING TO ARSENAL MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE GIVEN DECLAN RICE'S INTEREST.

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Sports

A year ago

Arsenal shouldn't let the Swiss international go this summer, despite Granit Xhaka being linked to a transfer elsewhere.


According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal is open to hearing proposals for Granit Xhaka in the summer.


Although Rice would be a great addition to the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners shouldn't let Xhaka leave for these reasons.


physical attributes


For a variety of reasons, Xhaka is an absolute starting. His excellent passing contributes to his team's outstanding rate of ball advancement; this season, he ranks 14th in the Premier League for progressive passes made per 90 minutes.


However, the Swiss international's ability to come off the ball is one of his underrated traits. In addition to winning duels and winning second balls and 50-50s, which Xhaka excels at, Arteta frequently emphasizes the value of these skills.


Due to illness, the seasoned midfielder was unable to play against Southampton earlier this month, and his absence was noticed. The Gunners had a glaring hole in the lineup as they struggled to transition and ultimately drew 3-3.


Only twice this season had Xhaka failed to get off to a good start in a Premier League game. The other was against Bournemouth at home, a game they won 3-2 courtesy to Reiss Nelson's heroics in extra time.


The 30-year-old was greatly missed on that occasion as well; Fabio Vieira, who also started against Southampton, struggled to match his predecessor's duel-winning abilities. It became apparent that Xhaka's propensity to throw himself about was possibly more significant than people had initially believed.


It was difficult to take last week's 4-1 loss to Manchester City, but if Arsenal learned anything from that game, it was that players' physical attributes cannot be underrated—even football's idealism Pep Guardiola doesn't try to disguise this.


It is uncommon for players to significantly enhance their game at the age of 30, but this season, Granit Xhaka achieved just that. He frequently played in a deeper midfield position, either pivoting alongside Thomas Partey or staying back in possession to allow overlapping left-back Kieran Tierney to move forward.

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