FPL Player in Focus: Granit Xhaka

As an Arsenal fan, Xhaka has been the most intriguing enigma during my 30+ years as a fan.

When the Swiss was signed, Arsene Wenger said the following:

“I personally prefer him as a box-to-box player. Because he has the engine, he has the power, he has the long pass. He likes to come deep and distribute the game, but he has the engine to have the impact with his runs. It’s not about his quality at the moment – he adapts to the pace of the English game – and for me it’s about pairs as well, who work together.”

However, during Granit’s time with Wenger, he would be deployed as a CDM or DLP (Deep lying playmaker). His lack of recovery and pace was consistently exposed which would lead to Big Chances being conceded, fouls and consequent bookings.

The real ‘low’ point came when Xhaka walked off the pitch to boos from the stadium and aggressively gestured towards the crowd.

As a fan, I was adamant that we needed to sell the midfielder. Constant errors and poor performances littered his time with ARS and, much like the fanbase, I wanted him out of the club as a priority.

Performances since 2022

Since the turn of the year, I have seen a player ‘reborn’.

In this blog, Arsenal fan Rey takes a look at Granit Xhaka and deeps dives into his performance this season which has made him an FPL option — **2021-2022**: GW1-GW20 vs GW21-GW38

Despite the heatmaps reading very similarly, the increase of all offensive stats significantly increased in the second half of the season. Arteta definitely saw the potential of more attacking returns from the Swiss player.

However, the question is “Where did Arteta see the attacking potential?”

As we can see from his past performances, Xhaka has only scored 100+ points once in the 6 season at Arsenal, each over 2000 minutes.

As an Arsenal fan, I have been pleasantly shocked by his transformation.

With 3 gls & 3 asts in 11 apps, Xhaka is a bona fide starter in the Arsenal side as the LCM and on average, most advanced central midfielder in the team.

Despite similar patterns of the heatmaps from last season, the touches are mainly in key, penetrating areas which have contributed in 13 shots and a higher average positioning.

The touches in the box have confirmed in my mind, that this is going to be a consistent behaviour in Xhaka’s game. High positioning and creative freedom to dictate attacking plays.

Advanced Positioning

The below examples are a consistent pattern of Granit being one of the most advanced players during attacks. Making the ‘late runs’ into the area have been a forte of the midfielders game this season.

With the apparent instruction from Arteta, FPL managers can expect Xhaka to constantly be in these areas based on his technical skill and superb fitness.

Attacking Threat

Frank Lampard was renowned for making the late runs into the box during his Chelsea career. Xhaka has been attempting the same game-behaviour which has brought great dividends.

The Swiss has had a “new lease of life” as an attacking asset and, through my research, I can see many more returns.

FFHub do not project Xhaka to score highly, but I feel this is based on his historical performances as a CDM. I can strongly advise that Granit is more of a box-to-box Midfielder who will constantly get into attacking areas.

Conclusion

ARS have been one of the top teams in relation to FPL so far this season. Having triple ARS seems to be the talk in the community at the moment, thus each asset needs to be carefully considered.

Selecting the Swiss star is difficult as there are many assets similarly priced that have also returned consistently, and have good fixtures such as Almiron, Iwobi and Andreas.

The key reason I would not bring him in is because double attack for ARS is a highly recommended. I would advise the 3rd spot to be used on Ben White as the defensive statistics for Arsenal have been very impressive.

What are you thoughts on Granit Xhaka?

Please leave your comments below.

Also, please follow me on Twitter (rey_qur) and also The FPL Way (here) where we cover differentials and GW analysis. Good luck with your GW14 planning.

Data and heatmap from FFFix and FFHub

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FPL Player in Focus: Granit Xhaka | A Redemption Story
FPL GW14 Fixtures & Players To Target | Best Matchups
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