Since arriving in North London, Granit Xhaka has worn many hats. Initially we had ‘Double Divot Xhaka’. Paired with anyone from Santi Cazorla to Aaron Ramsey, this was Xhaka with creative licence from deep. Long-range passes were his MO, spraying the ball out to the flanks.
From this followed what I like to call ‘Gladiator Xhaka’. More of a focus was put on Xhaka as being the ball-winner. He preferred to stay deep and as a spectator it felt as if he put away some of his more ambitious passing options.
Going on through all of this was the man who showed up on international duty, ‘All-Action Xhaka’. If you catch Granit playing for Switzerland expect him to pop up everywhere. No better example comes than his Man of the Match showing against France in 2021, where he was just as comfortable nicking the ball back as he was sliding his teammates through on goal.
In 2022, we seem to have arrived at yet another incarnation of Xhaka. Now we are presented with ‘Granit Xhaka Box Attacker’. Indeed, this is Xhaka at his most attacking yet. In the last three Premier League seasons, Xhaka presented the identical numbers of 1 goal and 2 assists. With only 3 matches gone in the 2022/23 season, Xhaka has hit these numbers already.
Now, we have two possibilities. One only has to remember Pogba getting 7 assists in the first four matches of 2021 only to finish with 9 all season to recognise that this might be it. We might have had a brief spell of magic, only for Xhaka to call it a day after topping out at his favourite numbers.
Alternatively, this may be the first sign of an evolved Granit Xhaka. To me, this is more likely.
Let us first look at where Xhaka finds himself on the pitch this season. For most of his career, Xhaka would have been either the deepest or joint deepest midfielder. Sometimes this was in a two, sometimes he was the most defensive of a three. This season, Xhaka finds himself somewhere else. Thomas Partey is anchoring Arsenal’s midfield, with Xhaka moved upwards in the left-sided slot in central midfield. This has several knock-on effects.
One is that Xhaka is now interacting with players he does not usually get to. Playing in defensive midfield, Xhaka would usually look to pass the ball out to the full backs, or to Mesut Özil dropping deep. Now, he is the player receiving the ball. What this means is that he is now positioned closer to both the left winger and the striker than he ever has been.
As such, he is plainly more likely to be making passes leading directly to goals. Instead of being the pass before the pass, Xhaka is now the player in the space to play the final ball. Both Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are happy to run in behind a defence, as long as Xhaka keeps his cool he will create goals.
Yet, the most interesting combination may be that which he shares with Oleksandr Zinchenko. Zinchenko is technically playing at left back, but his role may be better just described as ‘football’. Zinchenko drifts inside and outside, giving Xhaka countless options for where to go. He can go wide when Zinchenko goes narrow, he can cover the gap at left back, but most intriguingly he can even overlap him.
This is where we arrive at the ‘box attacker’ moniker. This season we keep seeing Granit Xhaka pop up in the penalty area. This has been something that Arsenal have been lacking since the departure of Aaron Ramsey. Many of Arsenal’s other midfielders have preferred to loiter just outside the box or even drift towards its edges, Xhaka just barges through the open door.
From this blasé approach the threat has been palpable. His good positioning saw him net an easy goal against Leicester, and it’s seen chances fall to him against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. In a tale as old as time, if you know where to stand chances will present themselves.
In all fairness to the man, this is not a role that many Arsenal fans would have seen Xhaka as being able of fulfilling. Often seen as slow and lacking in attacking threat, not many have expected to see him doing the job that Ilkay Gundogan often does over in Manchester. What this goes to show is both the mental approach and underrated skillset of Xhaka.
As seen extensively in All or Nothing, Xhaka is a consummate professional. Often he is unfairly maligned as a hot head, but very few seem aware of the fact that he has never been dismissed for Arsenal due to receiving two yellow cards. Xhaka is a far more controlled individual than he is given credit for. Looking at how he conducts himself, it should come as no real surprise that he has the capacity to remodel his game.
Xhaka has shown himself to be a versatile player. When threatened with being made obsolete he can reinvent himself to stay relevant. Looking at his prolific early start, we might be in for a very fun season of Granit Xhaka.
