1673 Passes, 23 Take Ons – Stats Show This Swiss Star Is Actually Better Than Arsenal’s Regular Starter

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Arsene Wenger and Arsenal’s misery has been fuelled by the Sunderland team last time out as the black cats held the gunners for a goalless draw in the stadium of light.

Well, the titles has been lost but, look at the bright side. Arsenal got a star in making; I’m talking about the Nigerian wonderboy Alex Iwobi who was seen at the latter part of the league and boy, he took the league by storm. Apart from Iwobi, Arsenal’s fans witnessed some great performances of the Egyptian star Elneny. No one would have thought that the player would adapt to the nature of the premier league, but look how he is performing alongside Francis Coquelin.

Well, Sir Alex Ferguson had some doubts over Coquelin after his horrendous debut match against Manchester United in the team’s 8-2 defeat and he also had a tough time to settle down in the team but he came back well and now he is the main holding force in the Arsenal’s midfield.

He has brought balance to the team and I can’t be wrong saying that Arsenal plays well when he is in the team. He is not the trickiest player on the field but, he knows how to struggle for the ball to win it back and hence, he is way above his compatriots (Flamini and Arteta) in terms of the tackles per 90 minutes.

On the other hand, we have the Swiss international Granit Xhaka who has been constantly linked with Arsenal for a potential transfer. He is not a marquee but, he is a star for the future. His ability to deliver pinpoint long diagonals is amazing and the 23-year-old will soon be replacing Gokhan Inler to become the captain of the Swiss side. He is improving overtimes but he needs to work on his temper as he already has 3 red cards to his name this season. Just like Coquelin, he is not the fastest player on the pitch but, teaming him up with Coquelin will give Arsenal a new defensive dimension.

Both the players are important to their teams and here, we will be trying to figure it out that who amongst both had a better season-

 

Xhaka vs Coquelin-

For the starters, Xhaka has 25 league appearances to his name while Coquelin has 23. In their number of appearances, Xhaka has played 21 full games and has been substituted in 4. Coquelin, on the other hand, has played just 12 full games and has been substituted in 8, and came on as a substitute in 3 games.

In their respective number of appearances, Xhaka has scored 3 goals this term for the club while, Coquelin hasn’t scored any. Xhaka has created 16 chances but has no assist to his name. Furthermore, The French star has created 4 chances and has no assist either.

Looking at their performance, Xhaka has been named as the man of the match twice this season and been named as the top man in the team for 4 times. Coquelin, on the other hand, has also been named as the man of the match twice and the top man in the team thrice.

Xhaka possesses an average passing accuracy of 85% which is an impressive number and has completed 1673 numbers of passes in which 81% were the forward passes. Furthermore, Coquelin has an average passing accuracy of 89% and has completed 908 passes in which 69% were the forward passes.

Now, talking about the defensive aspect of the game, Coquelin is easily ahead of Xhaka as he has won 56% of his duels. The French star has succeeded in 28 out of his 33 take ons. He has committed 46 fouls but, has won 18 out of his 33 headed duels. The Swiss star, on the other hand, has won 49% of his duels. He has succeeded in his 23 out of 28 take ons. He has committed 110 fouls this season and has won 84 out of his 151 headed duels.

Xhaka averages 5 defensive actions per game including blocks, interceptions and clearances while, Coquelin averages 4 defensive actions. Xhaka possesses a great passing length as he averages a passing length of 20m and has delivered 42 long balls this season. Coquelin, on the other hand, has an average passing length of 16m and has delivered 41 long balls.

That was a tough call to make but, as I’ve to announce a winner; I’d say Xhaka will take the all three points this time.

Swapnil Bhopatkar

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