There’s no doubting that Granit Xhaka has been a different player this season since being paired up with Lucas Torreira and playing under Unai Emery. However, yesterday he wasn’t at his best. One Arsenal fan account on Twitter tried to wax lyrical over his performance against the Terriers, but couldn’t find many Gunners to agree as they slated the Swiss ace’s performance.
Xhaka with another elite display from the middle that will possibly go unnoticed by many. Torreira looked a bit tired in parts and Xhaka stepped up really nicely. Defensively he was a beast and he helped us progress the ball very nicely. Captain’s display.
— LTArsenal (@ltarsenal) 8 December 2018
The Gunners did well to scrape a 1-0 at The Emirates yesterday against a stern Huddersfield side who have been in positive form over the last few weeks. It was a Lucas Torreira goal that gave them the winner in the end and Emery will be happy with the result, even if the performance wasn’t up to the same levels as recent ones against Tottenham and Manchester United.
The one man that the fans have been focusing on, though, is Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder was at his very best against Spurs last Sunday, but a booking in that game meant he missed the Manchester United trip. His return yesterday was something the fans were looking forward to, and in truth, he failed to deliver as he was drafted back in by Emery. The next game that the Gunners face domestically is away at Southampton, and they’ll be hoping Xhaka can find top form ahead of that one.
You can read the Gunners’ thoughts on Xhaka’s display here:
https://twitter.com/GonoudJohn/status/1071493884008636417
Were you at the game? He was shocking! Careless on the ball. Took an unnecessary dive at least twice. I’ll be the first to admit he has been strong In recent weeks but return to prior form today.
— JHS (@JamieHStewart) December 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/ArsenalTWQ/status/1071452979730018305
Not being a biased fan, but truth is Xhaka was absolutely shocking. I don't know if you were watching the same match. His team mates were having difficulty receiving his short passed and he was giving the ball away easily at danger areas.
— Henry Nkume (@henroy7) December 8, 2018
Xhaka needs really to cut out some atrocious passing where we almost concede a silly goal
— gunnerthru (@fartooeasy) December 8, 2018
He was okay. He made quite a few mistakes today… And was holding the ball way too much. He had a lot of good actions however he had a few bad mistakes that could have led to worse outcomes. Overall he was okay.
— Ivan Sá Vieira (@Ivansavieira) December 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/Jack_DoubleU_/status/1071463125537312768
https://twitter.com/myatz55/status/1071462108938887169
The Gunners were far from pleased with Xhaka and will hope he can up his game ahead of next weekend.
