EMIRATES STADIUM — Entertaining as it was, there wasn’t much to be learned from Arsenal’s convincing victory over a stale looking Leicester side on Saturday.
We already knew that Gabriel Jesus is precisely the kind of striker that Arsenal have lacked in recent years, that Gabriel Martinelli is rapidly becoming one of the Premier League‘s most dangerous and unpredictable wide forwards and that the electrifying Bukayo Saka is one of the most watchable talents in England. But there is always something new to be discovered: on this occasion it was finding out that Granit Xhaka can be hugely influential in a more adventurous, box-to-box role.
This summer has opened up a world of possibilities for Mikel Arteta. He is now in a possession of a striker who can run, press, win aerial duels and, get this, score goals, William Saliba’s long-awaited return means that he has three rather than two serviceable centre backs to pick from and Oleksandr Zinchenko provides an interesting alternative to Kieran Tierney at left-back, tucking in to add another body in midfield compared to the Glaswegian’s gallops down the touchline.
That final point loops us back around to Xhaka. Throughout the 29-year-old’s time in the Premier League, we’ve been conditioned to think of him as a defensive player and not always an effective one at that. His technical quality has never been in doubt; Xhaka has always been able to ping a picture perfect cross-field ball or thunder in the odd goal of the month contender from long range, but playing in a defensive position always exposed his innate Xhaka-ness: the desperate lunges, the misplaced passes, the head losses. The yellow cards. All 53 of them.
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When he hit the base of the woodwork early on with a back post header from a Saka cross, it felt coincidental. Players pop up in alien positions sometimes. But then he played a part in the first goal, teeing up Jesus to score a spectacular goal that arced deliciously over Danny Ward, before scoring Arsenal’s third with a tap-in from a matter of yards out. He had four touches in Leicester’s box; only Jesus had more for the Gunners. This was no fluke, it was part of a plan.
Unsurprisingly, it was the first time in Xhaka’s Premier League career that he both scored and provided an assist in the same game, and the first time he had contributed towards two goals in a league match in five years – he set up a couple in a 4-3 win against the Foxes in August 2017. In each of the last three campaigns, his goal total has been one and his assist tallies two.
Xhaka’s performance – which was only better by the outstanding Jesus – provoked a couple of questions: has he been a box to box midfield player this whole time? And if so, why has no Arsenal manager ever thought to use him there before?
Six years ago, Arsene Wenger insisted that Xhaka had “the engine” and “power” to play in such a position, but then proceeded to use him in a completely different one. From Wenger to Unai Emery to Arteta, Xhaka has almost always been deployed as the deepest central midfielder or else as one of two pivots in Arsenal’s midfield. It has been a different story for Switzerland where Xhaka has tended to have a much freer role, as was evident when he ran the show in last summer’s knockout win against France in Euro 2020.
“I’ve got more freedom to go up and down,” Xhaka explained after the game. “I know I can do that. I have a lot of freedom from the coach, from my teammates.
“It’s always good when you score and it’s always good when you can help the team – not only me, but all the players did a great job today. I’m more than happy to help, of course.”
It will be interesting to see how long this experiment lasts. Arteta suggested post-match that summer signing Fabio Vieira has been signed predominantly to play as a No 8, while the versatile Zinchenko offers another option. Having multiple options can only be a good thing.
Xhaka’s Arsenal career will always be partly defined by that night against Crystal Palace, when he removed his shirt in disgust as he trudged off to a chorus of jeers and boos. On Saturday, he saluted the same fans by forming a love heart with his fingers after scoring and they in turn, celebrated him. It has taken a while but maybe the redemption arc is finally complete.
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