A difficult evening at Stoke brought back all the panic-esque’ tension, discomforting gaps.
In the good fortunes witnessed in the wake of the switch to a back three towards the end of last season, the duo of Granit Xhaka – Aaron Ramsey at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield looked to be a solid foundation to grow optimistic about, heading into a new season, with a new system.
However, since that beautiful win over Chelsea at Wembley in May, what we’ve witnessed from any partnership involving both has been far from a partnership.
Infact, while success was recorded from finally having a system that suited the strengths of both midfielders, it’s been a disjointed start to the season from the duo as a pair, which at the same time appears so frustrating, considering how much both have already been involved in the attacking aspect of our performances so far.
Pinpoint accuracy, tough character and yet, awkward choices, Granit Xhaka stands “alone” in many regards.
These performances have come on the back of much spotlight from the Granit Xhaka, whose presence (or lack of) in the middle of the park has has had a knock on effect on both ends of the pitch. Take for example, his display against Leicester on week 1, where he provided exquisite diagonals, and still displayed bizarre carelessness on the ball one too many times for a player tasked with providing technical security for the team.
In this light, one of the players also recently brought in to add some technical balance to the team “Post Arteta” and in the wake of Santi Cazorla’s lengthy absence from midfield is Mo Elneny and considering what he has brought to the team whenever selected (especially alongside Xhaka), he has shown interesting qualities that compliment our big money Swiss a bit more than our swashbuckling Welsh.
In essence, a pairing involving the Egyptian and his fellow ex-Basel midfielder – Xhaka, appears to be the closest we’ve come, to replacing the mercurial Mikel Arteta’s business at the heart of the Arsenal midfield. This just goes on to show how exemplary tendencies were at stake, with professionalism in his conversion and adjustment of roles; a feat the Spaniard achieved without much fuss.
More so, , alongside Elneny, a fellow midfielder who’s looked as sharp as the Egyptian, but also in the center of attraction, and in phases is none other than The-Ox, who in return has tried to display his best The-O Walcott impression, with impressive performances coming in the middle of transfer/contract debacles….. Far from coincidence if you ask me.
Elneny & Chamberlain have quite proven to be two of our better players in preseason and despite divided opinion on the latter, he’s showing development worthy of regular selections, regardless of any tactical role.
The disparaging thoughts, actions and consequences in this regard ought to be handled with the utmost sense of transparency to a particular system, and the engines of Mo Elneny, Chamberlain and Ramsey, in addition to the highest quality of athleticism at the team’s disposal, on an either side of a level-headed Granit Xhaka.
Granit Xhaka and Mo Elneny operated in similar roles at Basel in quick succession but nonetheless, can and should complement themselves as a different pair.
Granit Xhaka and Mo Elneny operated in similar roles at Basel in quick succession but nonetheless, can and should complement themselves as a different pair.
