Granit Xhaka was one of many Arsenal players who put in a great performance in their 2-1 victory over champions Liverpool on Wednesday. We have taken a look at his performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side in the latest edition of our Unsung Hero feature.
Arsenal’s season has been a rollercoaster and this is summed up by their last two fixtures as they lost in the North London derby to Tottenham at the weekend, but then managed to beat Liverpool 2-1 last night. The latest victory sees them still sit in ninth, however they are currently only two points away from a European spot as it currently stands, per BBC Sport.
Alexandre Lacazette, who scored one and assisted one, received a lot of praise, however one player whose performance has seemed to go slightly under the radar is Granit Xhaka.
The central midfielder was immense on the night, and this is supported by his statistics from the fixture. Xhaka completed both of his dribble attempts successfully, whist winning four of his six ground duels and three of his four aerial duels, per SofaScore. He also made five clearances, blocked three shots, whilst making three interceptions and two tackles. This earned him a rating of 7.4 via SofaScore, which was the third best in comparison with the Arsenal squad.
Back in October the player was booed off the pitch and arguing with fans, which caused him to be stripped of his captaincy, and now he is putting in crucial performances meaning it looks likely he will stay at the club. This is a great turnaround for the Swiss international and hopefully he can continue to put in these performances to help the club qualify for Europe.
The £21.6m-valued ace’s display on Wednesday shows he can contribute in both attack and defence, and the 27 year-old has managed on average 1.6 tackles per game in all competitions whilst scoring one goal and picking up two assists, via WhoScored.
He may not have been spoken about too much after the game, but Xhaka is starting to show why Arsenal signed him in the first place and he is becoming a key player for the side under Mikel Arteta.
Gunners fans, what are your thoughts on Xhaka? Comment below!
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