Clrnc wrote:

Some of the trajectory of his passes in the compilation is Pirlo esque. Impressive technique.

Elneny, Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere, Xhaka, Coquelin is a great mix of central midfielders. We just have to find the right combination.

Impressive? Compared to what - Liverpool? Wilshere is class, but the rest are average or flawed midfielders. 

Savz wrote:

There is something I dislike how his body positioning. He looks quite rigid. He doesn't shift his body weight quickly enough. I like agile midfielders.

Agreed. He looks sluggish and stiff, without the physical strength to compensate for it.

Xhaka's strength is one of his main advantages, he hustles players off the ball several times per game. We have enough agile midgets, Xhaka is definitely more of what we need.

I'm a bit underwhelmed that one of the qualities of Xhaka being widely praised is his leadership.

We've had a fair few accountable players in midfield without it fixing our issues with positioning and protecting the defence, which are tactical.

Bah Wilshere doesn't count in any discussion for the season, and Cazorla himself is probably on his last legs. We could actually do with more 'agile midgets' considering the dross technique Coq and Ramsey display week in week out.

Kel Varnsen wrote:
Savz wrote:

There is something I dislike how his body positioning. He looks quite rigid. He doesn't shift his body weight quickly enough. I like agile midfielders.

Agreed. He looks sluggish and stiff, without the physical strength to compensate for it.

he's definitely not rapid. but he is tough, and not the lump you're painting him as either

All the videos I've seen of him seem to showcase his passing and not the defensive side of his game.

got subbed off to a standing ovation, and hugged the guys on the bench

He's always looked classy and dynamic when I've seen him play, mostly for Switzerland.

Would be very impressed if we've actually got this sorted.

Deal 'agreed in principle' according to John Cross.

This is exciting. We have been missing a beast in midfield for the longest time. Someone who will dish it out and not just take it. And he can play too.

Jed wrote:

Deal 'agreed in principle' according to John Cross.

This is exciting. We have been missing a beast in midfield for the longest time. Someone who will dish it out and not just take it. And he can play too.

Lol. He's a beast now, is he? The new Vieira

Big Willie wrote:

All the videos I've seen of him seem to showcase his passing and not the defensive side of his game.

Exactly

Doesn't mean he doesn't possess that though.

flobaba wrote:
Jed wrote:

Deal 'agreed in principle' according to John Cross.

This is exciting. We have been missing a beast in midfield for the longest time. Someone who will dish it out and not just take it. And he can play too.

Lol. He's a beast now, is he? The new Vieira

I've actually compared him to Vieira in one of the earlier posts of this thread. Not as good as he was in his pomp of course but they share many traits

jones wrote:
flobaba wrote:

Lol. He's a beast now, is he? The new Vieira

I've actually compared him to Vieira in one of the earlier posts of this thread. Not as good as he was in his pomp of course but they share many traits

Yeah. Leadership, physicality, height, aggression.

Height not really, he's taller than our bunch of midgets but stands a couple inches shorter than Vieira. But the other characteristics they definitely share, I'd add they both have pretty decent technique especially looking at their roles and size

Wiki says Xhaka is 6ft3 and that Vieira was 6ft4?

That's because he was standing on tip-toes when Wiki measured him.

He looks strong in the sense that he knows how to use his body weight

He's built like a tank. Of the players in the Premier League, I reckon he'd send all but a few flying in a shoulder-to-shoulder.

dreamlord wrote:

Wiki says Xhaka is 6ft3 and that Vieira was 6ft4?

Wiki also says Daniel Sturridge is 6'2".

Most places I've seen Xhaka's height listed say he's 185cm or 6'1" and that looks about right to me

His height is less important that his strength and ability to win a header.

I just want an intelligent and technically accomplished footballer in the middle now. Every other attribute is a bonus

flobaba wrote:

I just want an intelligent and technically accomplished footballer in the middle now. Every other attribute is a bonus

That is Santi and that has proven other attributes are needed.

Yeah, I don't think the half measures do us any favours, but we missed his attributes a lot more than we missed the other attributes in my opinion.

Not really. Santi when fit gave us exactly what we needed in the midfield bar the physical aspect and aggressiveness. But he's getting into his Arteta years now and I guess we'd be foolish to expect him to play at top level for much longer.

I'm going to reserve judgement on Xhaka till I see him play for us, and see how he fits in with whatever we will be trying to do as a team next season

flobaba wrote:

I just want an intelligent and technically accomplished footballer in the middle now. Every other attribute is a bonus

Oliver Torres. Ping master.

Borussia mogeldywhatever have confirmed that they've received a bid for Xhaka. Can't be arsed looking for the link, it's on the news part of their site.

Link doesn't work and I can't find the story among their news updates. Did you check it before you posted it? If it was there it has been removed.

Forum cuts the link in half for some reason. Anyway, its here:

Cheers, I see it now. That's indeed what it says (although Eberl isn't quoted directly on the website).

I wonder if Mönchengladbach have an agreement with Xhaka to let him go this summer as long as they get properly compensated.

Arsenal move edging closer...

What number will he get? Will Coquelin give up 34?

Off the top of my head the numbers available are

7
8
20
22
26

I wonder how much we'd get for Coquelin if we tried to sell him. People assume that he's going to be here next season, but he just lost his place in the team, and he was never that good to begin with. He'd be my favourite pick to leave if we're really after Xhaka and Kante.

I was thinking closer to 15, but maybe I'm optimistic. Part payment for Kante maybe...?