Now hes been here a few months how do you feel about him?
At a reported £30-35m transfer fee I expected a lot from him. Tbh, I dont think he has quite lived up to that price tag yet. A lot of players can take a year to settle in the PL though, so he could come good. He certainly has some ability and has a good pass and shot on him.
There is only one area I have concerns about with him. His pace. His speed of reaction, thought and pace are not great. He can improve the mental side but I'm not sure he is really fast enough for the position he plays. He can compensate by better positioning so with more experience in the league can improve there. His red card came a result of that imo, couldn't quite get back and made a rash challenge.
Im not sure I see him commanding a first team slot. I've just been reading a report about Wilshere and there was one thing in there about Jack that we have lacked recently, a player who is always available to receive a pass and keep an attack going. Players getting in the right position so a player on the ball has options has been a failure of some of our players I have noticed a lot recently. It ends up with players running up blind alleys. Thats a trait of a lot of modern day footballers though, they like to make the run they want and expect the ball to be played to them far more now than in the past. Players used to look to where the ball can be played and make a run so they can get it far more than now. It is a key factor in a lot of successful teams over the years.
So all in all, as he is at the moment I dont see Xhaka forcing his way ahead of Wilshere when he comes back or even Ramsey. Santi is still first choice.
He has time though and is still fairly young in a new league so should improve. A bit of hard work and playing a bit more intelligently and he can become a better player. He is (hopefully) not the finished article yet.
Thoughts on Xhaka
posted on 21/11/16
No one has really mentioned his defensive ability. As a CM he has to do work there to help the team defend. I touched on it talking about his lack of pace and need to improve positioning, but everyone else has focused on his passing.
The position he plays in should be a box-to-box player. Assuming Coq is the DM, the other player alongside him in CM should add something.
Santi controls midfield and starts attacks.
Ramsey will run box to box all day helping out attack and defence.
Elneny is probably the best defensively of the 4 being considered.
Xhaka has a good pass and shot and is expected to improve.
and we also have Wilshere to come back who is getting good reviews
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/20/jack-wilshere-is-thriving-with-his-breath-of-fresh-air/
Do you see Xhaka as the best of those now?
Do you see him really improving that much to become the best?
posted on 21/11/16
Why is it a prerequisite for a player’s popularity to be associated with ability?
posted on 21/11/16
Using the word "fantastic" was overboard. He has shown little yet to be described with such an adjective except it's a word you use lightly. Let's at least wait for him to prove something.
posted on 21/11/16
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? (U3126)
posted 8 minutes ago
Why is it a prerequisite for a player’s popularity to be associated with ability?
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It isnt necessarily. I've heard people call Perry Groves a legend.
posted on 21/11/16
comment by I am gooner now (U16927)
posted 29 seconds ago
comment by What would Stuart Pearce do? (U3126)
posted 8 minutes ago
Why is it a prerequisite for a player’s popularity to be associated with ability?
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It isnt necessarily. I've heard people call Perry Groves a legend.
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His throw ins were
posted on 21/11/16
He was good against Spurs. Showed what he can do. He's a real good player. Not sure why he isn't being played however. Something doesn't seem right
posted on 21/11/16
He played a few good balls against Spurs but his defensive deficiencies were exposed. Too many times he did not even slow them down
posted on 21/11/16
Xhaka is a good reliable player. If I could have chose between him and Mhikitaryan I surey would have bought Mhiki.
posted on 21/11/16
Swiss Tom Huddleston
posted on 21/11/16
He is what I expected him to be