In his final season for Arsenal, Granit Xhaka completed his redemption arc by mastering a new role in Mikel Arteta’s midfield.
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With more attacking responsibility, Xhaka registered a personal best for goals + assists in a single league season. Now he’s going to join Bayer Leverkusen.
Although Xhaka was clearly more than a square peg in a round hole, there is room to improve this position even further. The No.8 next to Martin Ødegaard will be the priority signing for Arsenal during the summer transfer window, so we’ve created a shortlist of players.
We picked out the trademark stats for this role AND what made Xhaka unique to find a player matching his output this season.
The key metrics used to find Xhaka’s replacement are: touches inside the opposition box, shots inside the opposition box, lay-off passes, final-third passes, final-third pass percentage, fouls won and open-play expected assists.
We created a shortlist based on those stats from the following leagues: Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, Primeira Liga, Brasileirão, Danish Superliga, the Championship, Turkish Süper Lig and MLS.
From the absolute dream options to wonderkids to watch, we’ve covered all the bases.
All data is provided by Opta and we used the Twenty3 Sport Discovery Tool to find the players.
#Arsenal #Xhaka #Arteta
6 Comments
Kudus and Odegard to fight it out… ESR and Vieira on the Right…. Actually Odegard-ESR; Kudus-Vieira/Odegard; ESR-Kudus as pairs….
Kudus could also cover Saka. So can Jesus… And in a more even possession or defensive game, throw in double pivot of Rice-Partey-Caicedo-J20 with a 10 in front… Versatility is key
I believe ESR should play RCM if our RB is inverting…bcos Saka needs that overlap underlap help…So Trossard or ESR in the R8 role when RB inverting
If Zinny plays then we need an overlap-underlap on the other side (L8) for Martinelli..meaning Kudus, Vieira or even Odegard
I´d love Zielinski. He is a proper player but not sure if we can get him. Napoli aren´t selling on the cheap.
This might sound nuts but I think Nuno Tavares will be an ideal replacement for Xhaka.
Lovro majer ideal replacement…kudus would be great too..but knowing arteta he would want smith rowe in that position before buying anyone
How to get like this status