One of Arsenal’s marquee signings this summer was Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach. Commanding a fee of 35 million pounds, much is expected from the midfield general. Here are the first impressions of the new Arsenal man.

Style 

Style of Play is something Arsene Wenger gives great importance to. Xhaka has adapted fairly well to the Arsenal style of play acting as a link between defense and attack. He plays fairly deep in the midfield and dictates play. At the same time Xhaka also acts as a shield for the defense putting in tackles and recovering possession. Considering Arsenal’s possession football, Xhaka has formed a promising partnership with Cazorla. The Swiss also isn’t afraid to play long passes or venture into more advanced positions.

Playing Between The Lines

A key aspect of ‘Wengerball’ is the ability to play in wingers. Therefore, playing accurate through passes between defensive lines are very important. As seen in the game against Watford, Xhaka was particularly impressive with his passing. Spreading play, he played an important role in the third goal. On more than one occasion did he also play in Alexis with a great long pass. One particular pass in the first half of the game also carved a decent scoring opportunity for Walcott who’s shot was saved. The Swiss has a keen eye for a pass and with his powerful left foot is more than capable of finding players on both sides of the pitch.

Composed in Possession 

Xhaka has taken up the role of acting as a link between defense and attack. Against Watford he finished the game with a pass accuracy of 87%. More importantly, most of his passes were positive with minimal passing between center backs. He also created a chance. His role is clearly to maintain possession and initiate attacks for the Gunners. Powerful and intelligent, Xhaka isn’t fazed when pressed by opponents and is fairly calm on the ball.

Defensive Solidity

Since the departure of Patrick Vieira, Arsenal have missed a midifield destroyer to put in tackles and recover possession as well as provide extra solidity to the back-line. Xhaka, who is known for his tenacity showed glimpses of what the Gunners have been missing for years making 2 interceptions and 4 clearances. His tackling was also particularly eye catching as it provided a steel to the midfield similar to the likes of Nemanja Matic for Chelsea. 

Granit Xhaka certainly looks like a great buy for Arsenal and is definitely accustoming to the rigors of English Football. The best is definitely yet to come from the Swiss who will be hoping to become one of the first names on the team sheet.