Granit Xhaka is the big problem at Arsenal

The post Arsene Wenger era has well and truly got underway, and result wise, it was a fimiliar story for Arsenal fans as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to the champions Manchester City. All the optimism and excitement surrounding the Arsenal fans and even the neutral fans going into this game was gone in the opening 15 minutes.

Raheem Sterling picked the ball up on the inside left position, and left Hector Bellerin behind as it he wasn't there. Young Matteo Guendouzi should have done better to get close to Sterling, but inevitably the ball hit the back of the net, a goal where Petr Cech should ultimately have saved. From that moment, from watching the Arsenal players it looked inevitable that they were going to fall to defeat to the best team in the country.

The criticism that Arsenal have received concluding the match has been dramatically over the top, and especially towards new manager Unai Emery. In glimpses Arsenal showed their quality, mainly when Mesut Ozil came in off the right flank and got himself in dangerous positions, but with a lack of options, he often failed with the final pass. Only when Alexandre Lacazette came on did Arsenal have a real goal threat, and he played his way into the new manager's thinking for the next selection.

The main issue that this Arsenal has and will continue to have, is the inclusion of one player, and for my thinking find it very difficult to comprehend why the club signed him up to new deal in the summer, and that is Granit Xhaka. The Switzerland international brought absolutely nothing to the performance of Arsenal against Man City. When the team needed someone to calm down the play and keep the ball, it was the young debutant Guendouzi who stepped up and did this for the team.

The 19 year old actually showed more maturity to his game than Xhaka. What Arsenal need in the heart of the midfield, the 66-time capped international fails to deliver more often than not. He shows little to no leadership, no calmness on the ball, fails to cover the ground to help his full backs, he rarely drops deep to show for the ball from the goalkeeper or the defenders and most importantly, he does not show a real desire.

Image result for matteo guendouzi — Guendouzi was the player his teammates were looking to receive the ball and make things happen.

Moving forward Unai Emery has much to think about, he will know he got his selection and tactics wrong against Man City, but the issue with Xhaka is not going away. Consistently at fault for goals, and with a host of central midfielders with more capabilities and qualities to bring to the team, surely there has be a question mark over the future of Xhaka at he Emirates.

Lucas Torreira will undoubtedly start in the heart of the midfield for Emery, but what system might he play to accomodate the inclusion of Ozil, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan in their best role? Matteo Guendouzi certainly showed enough on his debut to merit a chance moving forward alongside Torreira. Will the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Iwobi and Mohammed Elneny get a chance to show what they are capable of in the heart of the Arsenal midfield? There are options available to Emery and what he does moving forward will be interesting to watch. The one big decison he needs to make is that Xhaka has to come out of this starting lineup and either be sold on, or show his worth to this Arsenal team.

Edited by Ben Winfield