Xhaka - worst buy in recent history?: Page 10 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Xhaka - worst buy in recent history?

Captain

He's a poor man's Edu.

And Edu was fourth choice for most of his time here...

Gurgen

This guy makes Edu look like Didi.

lorddulaarsenal

Staggering how someone as dense as him can make it at a big club

speedy

His confidence is shot. Liam Brady chatted about him on Irish TV and said he came with a real leadership role in mind. Acting like a captain but nobody took him serious then his awful performances compounds that. So has gone from being the leader to the clown and he was struggling to deal with that.

You can see his confidence is gone. His left foot used to be wand. And he used to be able to pick better options.

lorddulaarsenal

I don’t see any loss of confidence with him. Looks totally ignorant to perceptions of him

Qwiss

Gazza M wrote:
I think he was decent against spurs but his defensive lapses have cost us too many goals, which isn't entirely his fault because you can tell that he isn't instinctively aware of danger situations.
Like goalscoring, you either have that instinct or you don't

And his forward passing is far far below what was needed in that position

Agree with your first paragraph, he was decent against Spurs although the game was an outlier, but disagree on the second point. He gets the ball forward more frequently and more positively than he's give credit for. He is far from a sideways pass merchant. The issue with his passing is that when he has to pass from a deep area he isn't consistent enough and the errors in those areas regularly lead to dangerous situations. Add to that the defensive lapses you mention and its just not good enough.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

He's also hideously one-footed although he's definitely not the only one. I find it pathetic that top-level pros can't at least be comfortable with their weaker foot.

goon

It’s the speed of his passing that’s an issue more than anything. He doesn’t think quickly enough nor move quickly enough.

Also while he was better than normal at Spurs, I still think he was a liability. Take the first goal, his attempt to close down the cross was embarrassing.

Qwiss

I think he's lacking a lot defensively. He was the wrong buy for our team under this manager thats for sure. There is a decent player there but a limited one that needs the right conditions to do well and improve.

We don't have a single solid midfielder when it comes to the defensive side of the game.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

At the start of his career with us he was at least showcasing that magic wand of a left foot. Potent passes from deep, launching attacks. He was reckless and walking red card but I was excited by our new-found counter attacking potential.

Shame he's become such a waste of space.

Gazza M

goon wrote:
It’s the speed of his passing that’s an issue more than anything. He doesn’t think quickly enough nor move quickly enough.

Also while he was better than normal at Spurs, I still think he was a liability. Take the first goal, his attempt to close down the cross was embarrassing.

i've noticed he takes that extra 2-3 seconds to set himself before releasing a forward pass, by which time most spaces at the top level close up. that's why to me his forward passing is probably technically sound, but those other factors of balance and timing make it meaningless

SimplyThePest

He probably takes too long to pass because no one is moving and/or where they are supposed to be.

Gazza M

i'm saying even when there is a good movement ahead of him, he still takes the extra few seconds to set/balance himself before releasing the ball

flobaba

Let’s call a bust a bust.

Burnwinter

I hope we didn't sign him just because he wibbled on and on about how much he loved Wenger.

lorddulaarsenal

His brother is better than him

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

flobaba wrote:
Let’s call a bust a bust.

Speaking of which, when can we get rid of Wenger's?

Qwiss

SimplyThePest wrote:
He probably takes too long to pass because no one is moving and/or where they are supposed to be.

Like all our midfielders.

Captain

He takes too long to pass because his foot speed is ridiculously slow and he has almost zero ability to buy himself a second using either his body or his speed of thought.

lorddulaarsenal

It’s very worrying how he can make it at top tier level.

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