When he isn’t relied on as a full-blown DM he is a valuable cog defensively. He can be a little slow on the ball but not so much that it scuppers our play-style but one thing I always point out is he offers a bit of security on the defensive end as he often picks up great positions to make blocks or interventions.
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Xhaka’s redemption arc is a delight to witness.
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Great to see
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I can’t think of another example of this in football or really any team sport. It’s pretty incredible. Obviously I think the Amazon doc helped a little but what’s really changed is the way he evolved his game! I guess Arsene was right the whole time!
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Credit goes to Arteta for this, he has found the system that maximises Xhaka’s strengths and minimises his weaknesses.
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Yeah gotta give credit. Fits like a glove atm.
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What is the song?
We’ve got…GRANIT XHAKA
We’ve got…GRANIT XHAKA
Basically it lol
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Remember all those IDIOTS that wanted to sell Xidane to Roma and not extend his glorious stay here? Could never be me.
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Yeah has there ever been a similar redemption story like this in football??
He was literally our most hated player for like 4 years and that’s not even an exaggeration.
Fair fucking play to him, I’m very impressed and I take it back.
Fucking madness that it took this long to get him performing though.
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Sensational performance from Granit yesterday. He definitely deserves the plaudits for his overall form this season too.
Quite mad to think this position has improved him/the team. I thought it was just a temporary thing whilst we wait for the #8 we all wanted the club to address. I reckon the Tielemans link was legit, we probably sought him out properly back in January and planned to get him in the summer. I wonder at what point Mikel decided he would make that position Xhaka’s though? I’m sure he had minutes there towards the end of the season??
Either way, I like this because it solves a need we all thought would improve the team. We can concentrate elsewhere; Partey backup (Danilo?) and a winger.
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Totally immense against Brentford! Made an episode on him this week, some of his play is completely selfless and for the team at times
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The thing that turns my opinion around on him the most is he always makes a point to go over to the fans after the game, no matter the result.
It’s about time he performed for us but credit to him and Mikel for finding a way to make it work.
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I hesitate to say anything even slightly negative about Xhaka b/c of the backlash I will receive, but imho it can’t be stressed enough how much this is a credit to Arteta… one of the things that always made me condemn Xhaka as a legit long-term option in CM was his lack of 360 awareness (In particular when compared to Cesc and Santi) and his relatively naive positioning off the ball - early days he always seemed to be chasing on the heels of players or unaware of critical runs or movements around him - something that is not easy to notice without playing particular attention and not just watching the game (and it also does not show up in any stats).
Xhaka is a very useful contributor now and has some games where he is really good and it seems like his mistakes have lessened (become less harmful) and become fewer (I think that is also credit to the guys behind him).
I was not sold on Arteta, but to me this is one of the signals (Xhaka’s transformation) that gives me some hope that maybe this really is the guy that can take us back into the top tier consistently.
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Good. Keep it that way. I have Xhaka slander on Google alert.
Needs a better name but think this one has merit.
Ffs look at the grair hair building on his granit head. We have to enjoy him while we can !
He plays a lot further up the pitch (in other words Partey protects him) and has less responsiblity as far as playmaking goes. More of a cog in the machine rather the midfielder who receives the ball as one of the first and needs to initiate. Which he doesn’t have the qualities for and was the cause for him being found out. He has less of a burden too carry, I think, and that has improved his game a lot.
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Having found Jesus in his life has really transformed him. Never was a believer myself until the recent games of Xhaka.
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