Granit Xhaka responds to the crowd reaction after he is substituted

Granit Xhaka: Is the criticism of the Arsenal captain fair? A look at the statistics

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Wed October 30, 2019 · 5y ago

Granit Xhaka's captaincy at Arsenal has been thrown into doubt following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

Xhaka's substitution was greeted with cheers from the Emirates Stadium crowd, sparking a furious response from the midfielder.

The 27-year-old told Gunners' supporters to "f*** off" as he left the pitch before removing his shirt and heading straight down the tunnel.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery insists he will talk to Xhaka before deciding whether to strip him of the Arsenal captaincy.

"He was wrong, he was wrong," Emery admitted. "Now we need to stay calm and speak with him, to speak inside about that reaction. His reaction was wrong in that moment."

The Arsenal man is one of 68 midfielders to have featured in at least nine Premier League matches so far this season, and is therefore viewed as a key component in his side's system.

Despite this, Xhaka has often been a target for the Gunners faithful - but is their criticism fair?

Tom Carnduff looks at the statistics behind his performances so far and compares the numbers with the other regular starters in England's top-flight.

Passing

Granit Xhaka's passing statistics are somewhat good in comparison with the rest of the Premier League

Accurate passes: 87% (joint 11th)
Accurate own half passes: 254 (joint 4th)
Total passes: 556 (10th)
Accurate long balls: 66% (joint 22nd)

Given his position on the pitch, Xhaka's passing is key to Arsenal's chances of success.

Their short passing, possession-based football should suit someone with his attributes but he fails to excel in an environment that, on paper, should be ideal.

The stand-out stat in his favour here is accurate own-half passes, with only three midfielders able to boast more at this point in the season.

However, while 556 total passes reflects his position on the pitch and Arsenal's style of play, it's just not enough for a player in a side with top-four aspirations.

The same can be applied for the low percentage of accurate passes and the inability to hit a target with long balls, even if it's not a key part of the Emery philosophy.

On the whole, Xhaka's passing and distribution has been good this season - slightly above average - but it does leave a lot to be desired at a club of Arsenal's stature.

Defensive work

Granit Xhaka looks to win the ball from Watford's Etienne Capoue

Successful tackles: 18 (joint 21st)
Clearances: 17 (joint 6th)
Interceptions: 4 (joint 53rd)
Dribbled past: 8 (joint 46th)
Ground duels won: 32 (joint 43rd)

Xhaka largely lines up as part of the defensive midfield duo there to offer support to the centre-back partnership alongside bringing creativity at the base of the Arsenal midfield.

The main issue is that while a deeper midfield is meant to be there to provide a solution to Arsenal's often problematic defence, Xhaka only adds to that crisis instead of bringing answers.

It's debatable whether Arsenal's inability to stop the opposition from creating chances is a result of a wider team problem or Xhaka's involvement in the heart of where those efforts should be cut out, but the stats do not make for pleasant reading.

There is an issue when it comes to reading the game. Interceptions are a statistic dominated by defensive-minded midfielders but Xhaka is nowhere to be seen at the top of the charts, ranking outside the top 50.

Leicester's Wilfred Ndidi, Bournemouth's Philip Billing and Crystal Palace man Luka Milivojević are strong in this area, as are Dale Stephens, Declan Rice and Jorginho, and the main thing that links them all is their position at the base of midfield.

Even young Matteo Guendouzi, the Arsenal captain's midfield partner, has established the ability to cut out passes before they hit their intended target. Xhaka, though, lags behind with four interceptions so far.

Successful tackles can link into that with 20 players boasting more, again the majority being defensive midfielders, although the one positive area is that very few players have been able to dribble past him.

Still, it's difficult to conclude anything other than Xhaka being a weak link defensively, the one area where he's supposed to be a strength.

Discipline

Granit Xhaka is booked by referee Kevin Friend

Penalties conceded: 1
Yellow cards: 4 (joint fourth)
Fouls: 22 (1st)

It's little surprise to see that with poor defensive work comes poor discipline.

One of the main characteristics of Xhaka's play is the amount of cards he picks up across the course of a season. He's already got four on his tally by the end of October, which is joint-fourth-highest in this category.

It's not just a one-season issue, as Arsenal fans will know. Xhaka found himself in the top 10 for cautions during the 2018/19 campaign, while he also placed second in yellow cards the season prior.

It comes down to a combination of poor reading of the game, bad decision-making and sometimes frustration. All three of those offer no benefit to this Arsenal team and result in regular cards.

The number of fouls is far too high - 22 so far, a league worst - and it's difficult to argue he's making tactical fouls which may in fact benefit the team.

And it's getting worse. He placed 20th for fouls committed during 2018/19, but the Arsenal man has already hit 50% of his fouls mark for that campaign with over two-thirds of the season remaining.

Just the single penalty conceded doesn't look bad on the surface, but Xhaka is one of just seven midfielders listed and it's pretty damning stuff once more.

Attacking play

Sokratis celebrates his goal against Crystal Palace with Granit Xhaka

Shots: 6
Goal conversion: 0%
Assists: 1

This isn't a key area given his role on the pitch but there has been little attacking involvement from the Arsenal man to mitigate those defensive concerns.

Just six shots in total has led to 0% conversion, although he did pick up his first assist of the season for Sokratis' goal against Crystal Palace.

There is that ability to strike from distance, as has been demonstrated in the past, but the number of efforts on goal has declined from last season.

In 2018/19, he averaged a shot per game in the Premier League - leading to four goals in total. This season, that figure stands at 0.6 shots.

If the attacking side of his game had improved, it could help to explain the dip in defensive showings, but the fact is that both have declined in parallel.

It'd be harsh to criticise Xhaka for that lack of attacking ability, given his defensive requirements, but it adds to the evidence for when criticism is handed out.

What next for Xhaka?

Granit Xhaka takes his shirt off after being booed by his own Arsenal fans

Odds via Sky Bet

Granit Xhaka to start in EFL Cup (v Liverpool) - 6/4
Granit Xhaka to start next PL game (v Wolves) - 11/10
Granit Xhaka to leave Arsenal before 3rd Feb 2020 - 9/4

Xhaka missed Arsenal's convincing 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the last round, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he wasn't involved again when they face Liverpool in the EFL Cup.

A lot will be made of the incident and the impact that has had on Emery's team selection, but he did opt for Lucas Torreira and Joe Willock in the deeper midfield positions during that victory.

A lack of involvement for Xhaka could be a good look for Emery and Arsenal, even if he wasn't planning on playing him against Liverpool.

The immediate response will be one of discipline as opposed to tactical reasons. It'll strengthen Emery's hand when it comes to dealing with incidents within his squad, and given the ongoing struggle with Mesut Ozil, it's needed.

A lot depends on what emerges from Emery's meeting with Xhaka this week. He's been a regular part of this Arsenal side and clearly a favourable player in the manager's thinking, so if it is resolved then there's a strong chance of involvement against Wolves.

On the flip side, there is a school of thought which says there is often no coming back from this. For a player to be jeered by their own fans is bad enough, let alone that player being the captain, and his response only poured fuel on the fire.

If the issue won't go away then a quick sale in January may be the answer to maintain squad harmony. There would be no shortage of offers from clubs around Europe for his services, whatever the stats above may suggest.