Xhaka has won his duels, showing strength and judgment in his one-on-one defending; he has passed with sharpness and incision, and he has brought balance in his developing midfield partnership with Thomas Partey.
Granit has also been subjected to unfair criticism by our fan base. However, Xhaka will be the first to admit in letting his emotions getting over him. It is about time our true fans get behind Xhaka without reservations.
Xhaka was interviewed recently by Guardian and said;
“I had the big thing against Palace … I’ve also had the Burnley issue … and October 2019 was the hardest time for me as a footballer. But the attacks on my wife and the targeted comments about my daughter, my friends – that’s really beyond the pale. One of the problems is we don’t know who is writing this stuff; this is the nature of social media.
“As I say, criticise the player. I’m the one on the pitch. But your family and friends are nothing to do with it. It’s happened recently with [the Manchester United striker] Anthony Martial and his wife receiving some hostile comments. You have to ask yourself: ‘Why?’"
Xhaka describes the players-turned-pundits as having the capacity to trigger social media pile ons and he feels that their criticisms can be more personal and aggressive than those in Switzerland and Germany, where he played previously. After the Burnley red card, Patrice Evra revealed on Sky Sports that Thierry Henry had once switched off the TV and refused to watch an Arsenal game when he saw Xhaka was the captain.
“There have been comments made by Evra, Henry … they make them as ex-players, sometimes about the performance of a particular player, and they kind of invite that wave of social media criticism," Xhaka says. “I think some pundits might actually be provoking that criticism. It’s something you never see in Switzerland or Germany, that just doesn’t happen. It seems to be rather unique to the United Kingdom."
Xhaka unfairly targeted
posted on 5/2/21
Fack Evra that man has issues with Arsenal in general and attention seeker he needs to be castrated.
posted on 6/2/21
Xhaka isn't good overall, in fact he's been terrible for the most part. Yes he scores the odd screamer, even has the odd good half, very occasionally an entire game where he's pretty decent. But for the most part he offers little going and is average defensively, often a liability.
posted on 6/2/21
comment by ES-Rowe Arteta (U21751)
posted 8 hours, 13 minutes ago
Fack Evra that man has issues with Arsenal in general and attention seeker he needs to be castrated.
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So basically comments like this are a perfect example of what is apparently unique to the UK. You've done well
posted on 6/2/21
Xhaka is a solid player, nothing more than that. We need better than him to become competitive again. Just ask yourself in which top club could you put him in XI?
posted on 6/2/21
I've defended Xhaka for years. Back when he used to cover every blade of grass on the pitch and throw himself into every tackle for 30+ games a season. Wasn't pretty, but that's exactly what was needed in midfield.
I even defended him after that ugly incident with the fans.
But I'm done now.
Now he just casually jogs about the place and pads his stats with unimaginative 5-yard trampoline passes with the nearest player in an Arsenal shirt. And that's when he isn't hiding and hoping no teammate passes him the ball.
posted on 6/2/21
comment by Gillespie Rd. (U18361)
posted 5 minutes ago
I've defended Xhaka for years. Back when he used to cover every blade of grass on the pitch and throw himself into every tackle for 30+ games a season. Wasn't pretty, but that's exactly what was needed in midfield.
I even defended him after that ugly incident with the fans.
But I'm done now.
Now he just casually jogs about the place and pads his stats with unimaginative 5-yard trampoline passes with the nearest player in an Arsenal shirt. And that's when he isn't hiding and hoping no teammate passes him the ball.
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Actually he is playing now better than ever, I think his performance is better after incident with fans than it was before incident. Thing is that it is not good enough, he can be great squad player, but not a player that will take us to higher levels.
posted on 6/2/21
comment by Gillespie Rd. (U18361)
posted 8 minutes ago
I've defended Xhaka for years. Back when he used to cover every blade of grass on the pitch and throw himself into every tackle for 30+ games a season. Wasn't pretty, but that's exactly what was needed in midfield.
I even defended him after that ugly incident with the fans.
But I'm done now.
Now he just casually jogs about the place and pads his stats with unimaginative 5-yard trampoline passes with the nearest player in an Arsenal shirt. And that's when he isn't hiding and hoping no teammate passes him the ball.
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Think you'll find you deluded yourself for years. Xhaka never did what you stated in the first paragraph
posted on 6/2/21
comment by 5-2 (U10698)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Gillespie Rd. (U18361)
posted 5 minutes ago
I've defended Xhaka for years. Back when he used to cover every blade of grass on the pitch and throw himself into every tackle for 30+ games a season. Wasn't pretty, but that's exactly what was needed in midfield.
I even defended him after that ugly incident with the fans.
But I'm done now.
Now he just casually jogs about the place and pads his stats with unimaginative 5-yard trampoline passes with the nearest player in an Arsenal shirt. And that's when he isn't hiding and hoping no teammate passes him the ball.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Actually he is playing now better than ever, I think his performance is better after incident with fans than it was before incident. Thing is that it is not good enough, he can be great squad player, but not a player that will take us to higher levels.
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I'm the kind of anorak who's actually gone as far as using a stopwatch during a game to see how long Xhaka could go without touching the ball. I think the record is about 6 minutes. 6 minutes without the ball is absolutely criminal for a midfielder.
Talented players like your Pirlos and Xabi Alonso's could probably get by without the hard graft. But an average player like Xhaka is useless without a decent work rate.
posted on 6/2/21
Yeah ..! Nice ‘tackle’ to take out grelish at the end.
A real professional sporting challenge.
The guys a thug .