Arsène Wenger admits that Granit Xhaka still needs time to adapt fully to the rigours of Premier League football before making the kind of impact that persuaded Arsenal to spend heavily on the Swiss midfielder. “He needs to adapt to the way we play and the tactical pace of the English game,” Wenger said. “I am confident he will do very well.”
The lack of regular game time has been mystifying. Xhaka has completed 90 minutes of a Premier League game only twice since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer, a deal Wenger was very keen to push through before the European Championships that Xhaka went on to impress in.
The Arsenal manager says this has been a challenging period for a player who had been captain, and relied upon to be a mainstay, at his previous club. “That is part of the job,” Wenger said. “People want you to buy players but when you buy them we only pick 11 and not 22 and they feel sorry for the 11 who do not play. But you want them to compete and convince you that they can get in the team and it becomes obvious they have to play.”
Xhaka’s omissions from the starting lineup in recent big games against Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have been especially curious given the absence of Santi Cazorla. Xhaka ought to be the next best equipped to deliver passes between the lines from the cadre of Arsenal midfielders.
Wenger implies that part of the delay in fully unleashing Xhaka is about the balance of the team. “He’s more a deep playmaker I think than a box-to-box player. He does not get into the final third of the opposition half a lot,” said the Frenchman. “He is more a guy who has a fantastic pass to play through the lines. He gets the ball from the defenders and finds the high midfield.”
After three draws in which Arsenal’s creativity has dropped off, this Sunday’s fixture against Bournemouth looks like the ideal opportunity to give Xhaka a chance to prove his worth.
In many ways it was his arrival that hastened the decision for Jack Wilshere to go on loan to the south coast club. Wenger will approach Wilshere with the offer of a contract renewal around the turn of the year, and from what he has observed and reports he has heard of Wilshere’s impact, he is happy with his progress and believes he will again play for Arsenal.
Of the loan, Wenger explained: “It was a human case more then a calculated financial case. He’s been educated here since he was eight or nine years old, he has gone for years through difficult periods where he didn’t play. I felt honestly if a guy who has been educated here has another season where he doesn’t play because I don’t give him the chance because I have some players who are fitter than him, it would be unfair.
“Jack is a special case because he came back from two years with no competition. You have to compete. It’s not a lack of wanting to compete with Jack, it’s just to give him a chance to come back to his best level.”
He added: “I let him go this season because we bought Xhaka, we have Elneny, Ramsey, and I thought if he doesn’t play regularly, and he wasn’t fit enough to be in the position to start games … so I let him go. If Jack comes back to his right level he will play for us.”
Not that Wenger is predicting an easy contract renegotiation. “I can assure you talks over a contract are always difficult. If he wants to go somewhere else you have to respect that,” he said. “My feeling is I want him back. He always said he is an Arsenal man.”