I like him pushed up to the centre circle when we play out from the back. He finds space well there and can actually turn forward due to not being pressed.

Bit of a low-key "masterstroke" putting him in that new structure.

Still need to upgrade on him though!

I thought Elneny was our best midfielder again today. Don't think it's a coincidence that we - Xhaka included - look better with his engine and ability to work the ball forward. That filthy ball over the top to Nketiah in the 72nd minute would have gotten a heap of praise if Ødegaard had played it instead.

Have to disagree that Xhaka's the only one in the back six who gets the ball forward. Our issue is that we too often have Xhaka on one end of this situation and Laca in the other, which means the ball never gets played forward and the run never happens:

Bin Xhaka and get a new midfielder in the summer who consistently works the ball forward and we'll move up a tier.

If only Elneny is stronger in tackles he will be even more useful.
Credit to him, 4th choice but never complained a single bit and more often than not is good enough to come in and do a job

5 days later

Xhaka suffers from main character syndrome.

I wonder if he believes his own publicity = 3 consecutive managers have used him as starting whenever he us available, therefore he must be a key player and the issues are elsewhere.

9 days later

Thought some of you might be amused, or not, to know that Xhaka's brand new Range Rover (like, three weeks old) is currently sitting in my mate's garage as it's already broken down.

RocktheCasbah wrote:

Thought some of you might be amused, or not, to know that Xhaka's brand new Range Rover (like, three weeks old) is currently sitting in my mate's garage as it's already broken down.

So his car isn't as robust as he is.

No, either that, or he tackles driving - well, like he tackles.

Can your mate cut the brakes.

We haven't been to the CL since he signed. Coincidence surely!

His intervirw just now wound me up so much. Effectively saying other players who were scared sgould have stayed home or on the bench.

Though for once he did apologise to the fans. Probably genuinely wondering to himself why he has to play with players who are beneath him.

It's no wonder Arteta loves him. It's always everybody else's fault with them.

Big Willie wrote:

His intervirw just now wound me up so much. Effectively saying other players who were scared sgould have stayed home or on the bench.

Though for once he did apologise to the fans. Probably genuinely wondering to himself why he has to play with players who are beneath him.

I just watched the interview, I didn't interpret it that way. He was asked "was it the performance of a young team?" and his response was "doesn't matter the age, whether you are 30 or 10 or 18, if you are nervous, stay on the bench". Seems a pretty standard thing to say, that age is not an excuse at this level.

I thought it was a very fair interview, and one that was fitting for the moment.

Credit to him for that.

He may not have said anything that was 'wrong', but I still get deja-vu to his comments from last summer.

right message, wrong messenger. this guy could also have been publicly thrown under the bus by team mates for his countless acts of buffoonery over the years. completely lacking in self-awareness as usual. ofcourse he's one of artetas key men

I don't even blame him. he's always come across as thick on and off the pitch. it's the clubs fault for indluging his bullshit all these years, to the point of actually dubbing him a leader. at that point you deserve what you get

He’s right thought. The moment there’s any hint of pressure to deliver, they shit the bed.

The worst performers on the night were the midfielders, including Xhaka. He shouldn't be talking about the rest of the squad at all. He was abysmal in the last 2 games. He should just fuck off to midtable in a lesser league, he's not good enough.

Everytime the going gets tough, he acts like he played well and the rest didnt turn up. He was absolutely fucking pathetic and lack bottle on the night. If he said including himself then fair enough

What's the point in saying anything to the press really. Xhaka's a moron but the only thing he could've said to point out where the actual problem is would've landed him in the reserves.

Qwiss! wrote:

Can your mate cut the brakes.

He's a Gooner too, so he might be tempted.

Xhaka saying all the right things to get him his move this summer.

2 months later

"Because Mikel was the guy with [technical director] Edu, they didn't let me go because they wanted to keep me here. Of course, my first reaction was to stay at the football club, but they opened the door: 'If something comes, I can leave.' I have to be honest as well. I don't want to say a name now, but the door was open for me to leave the club as well. But in the end, people decided to keep me here."

I mean we don't even need him to tell us we wanted to keep him here.

Only complete idiots thought we tried to offload him and get a new CM. It was never a priority and how we have treated him is consistent with Arteta behaviour towards players he really feel is important for us.

I can't be bothered ranting about this guy anymore. he'll keep churning out his bog average performances, punctuated with moments of total idiocy, and management will keep singing his praises regardless.

He looks good when he has time on the ball and space to play it into, but most of the passing is limited to the left flank so he's passing from in to out and no more central than the channel. Don't get me wrong as it's much better than what I've seen from him previously, however I don't think it is enough to keep him, let alone be a starting player. I suspect there would be more examples of him playing without composure when he is put under pressure, and him playing hospital passes to a team mate that often results in a loss of possession and/or goal scored against us.

His passing is good from deep in a double pivot. If he plays there alone he's too easy to mark out of the game and if he plays further forward, as he most does now, he doesn't have enough in his locker to warrant a place with hopes of breaking the top 4. And thats without all the howlers.

Xhaka's problem is that he is too fucking slow at everything. Takes too much time on the ball, too much time to turn around, too much time to get an overview of the pitch, too much time to deliver the pass etc. Can't stand him as footballer.

Wenger used to say you have 2s as a midfielder to think and pass. Xhaka always need more than that which is why he will never be good

Kel Varnsen wrote:

Xhaka's problem is that he is too fucking slow at everything. Takes too much time on the ball, too much time to turn around, too much time to get an overview of the pitch, too much time to deliver the pass etc. Can't stand him as footballer.

This.  

Aside from everything else he simply slows down our transition forward.  His primary thought process seems to be to prioritise retaining possession, and as a result he is risk adverse in his own intent, but often places his team mates under pressure when he plays it safe.
As a gross generalisation I'd say he is ill suited to the pace of the EPL.

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Surely you guys appreciate this?

Surely you appreciate this:

8 days later

Slowly becoming my favourite player. That ball to put Martinelli through for the Nketiah assist was simple yet sublime

I heard he was very good today? you could see signs of comfort, assurance, and decent positioning the other week. I'm interested in how fares next weekend in a real contest. Nothing has changed in my mind about what a giant liability he is. Even in times when he's not, he suffers the stigma among refs.

I was so hyped when we signed Granit - loved how he played for Switzerland. Becoming more like that player under Arteta, but I don't think I can ever forgive him his various trespasses.

I guess I can tolerate him for a bit longer, just wish we'd finally replace him.