2.6 Tackles, 2.7 Interceptions & 7.8 Long Balls Per Game, But Is This Liverpool Target Good Enough For Arsenal?

The likes of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla might be the duo who get the job done for Arsenal more often than not but when either of them are injured, the Gunners simply do not have the same bite in midfield.

Even bringing in the likes of Mathieu Flamini or Aaron Ramsey does not help them and well Jack Wilshere isn’t any near to full fitness having not played a single league game this campaign.

With the transfer window coming up, Arsenal need to bring in more reinforcements in midfield, especially with the likes of Mikel Arteta and Flamini not getting any younger and they could be the ones who are sold in the summer.

One player who has been linked with a move away from the Bundesliga to the Premier League is the Swiss international Granit Xhaka. The Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder has been one of the best players in the German league and has been linked with Liverpool but should Arsenal try and hijack the deal?

Xhaka to England but for which Red club should he play?

Xhaka is someone who plays in the central midfielder’s role or as a defensive midfielder. His strengths are passing and winning headers. He also has a great range of passing, though one of his biggest issues is his lack of discipline.

In the Bundesliga he has scored three goals all season, so you would not expect him to bang in the goals for Arsenal either but he is great on the ball. He rarely gets dispossessed, as he gets dispossessed just once per game according to stats from whoscored.com.

If we are to compare that with the other Arsenal midfielders, he does come out on top. Aaron Ramsey averages 2.5 dispossession’s per game while Santi Cazorla averaged 1.4, Coquelin though managed a lower stat with just 0.9.

Since Arsenal’s gameplay, especially from the midfield would depend on passing accuracy, the 23-year-old does not have a single assist to his name in the Bundesliga, while the other Arsenal midfielders such as Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey have three each.

Xhaka though is exceptional with his long range passing and averages 7.8 long balls per game this season, that is greater than almost every single Arsenal player with only Santi Cazorla coming slightly closer, and we stretch it by saying slightly, close with 3.5 per game.

When it comes to tackling it is the Swiss midfielder who seems to be a fit for the Arsenal team. Xhaka averages 2.6 tackles this season while Ramsey averages 2.5 with Flamini with 1.9 but again it is Coquelin who averages 3.1 per game.

The French midfielder also averages 3.3 interceptions per game which is greater than Xhaka’s 2.7. The issue with Xhaka’s discipline does come out big time as he averages 2.7 fouls per game while Coquelin only averages 1.1, in fact no Arsenal player averages more than 1.5 fouls per game.

Xhaka seems to be a great player for a team that is lacking the bite in midfield, his range of passing might be excellent but for what Arsenal have in their team, they do not need a player who isn’t better than Coquelin based on stats at least. Xhaka could be a great addition for Liverpool but not for Arsenal.