Dubbed as the "Young Schweinsteiger" by former Switzerland and Bayern Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, Granit Xhaka is the latest player to join the ranks of Arsenal this summer.
At 23, Xhaka has top flight European football experience having won the
Swiss Super League in both 2011 and 2012. The midfielder has also played in the Champions League with both Basel and Borussia Mochengladbach. With the now consistent collapse of Arsenal when it matters most during the league campaign which has made them unable to win the Premier League in the last 12 years, it is not surprising that Arsene Wenger has splashed an excess of £30 million for the services of the Kosovo and Albanian born player who plays for The Swiss national team.
While Francis Coquelin has improved tremendously in the last season even ending up as one of the few positives of the last campaign for the North London club, there are still signs that he is not yet up to the standard required to start for a club fighting for the Premier League title club contender each season .
With Xhaka, Arsenal have signed a player who will not only protect the back four but will also ensure an almost perfect ball re-distribution from the back once the ball is recovered from the opponent. Xhaka is an aggressive player who loves to tackle and will be at peace with the fast paced Premier League. He can play deep or further up the field and loves to shoot long range shots from which he scored his three Bundesliga goals last season. The player has also played in the World Cup even scoring in the group stage match against France in 2014 . He also created 22 chances for his team mates of which one was converted last season. To buttress further his love for the aggressive game , the midfielder won 49% of his duels with a further 85% in his passing accuracy . Xhaka is still 23 and will compliment deep laying playmaker Santi Cazorla a lot in the centre of the park . He is a massive upgrade on the central midfielder in Arsenal and his signing significantly portrays the progress the club has made since it's "Selling Days" era which saw the sales of Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri and Alex Song.
While the signing might be considered a success , It is important to note that the midfielder has a tendency to lose his temper and inability to control his emotions which saw him sent off thrice last season in the Bundesliga becoming the most sent off player last season. Xhaka also has to improve his goal scoring record which stands at four in 108 Bundesliga games for Borussia Mochengladbach.
Everything being equal, Granit Xhaka might end up one of the few revelations of the Premier League next season.
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