Boss Wenger: Xhaka needs to adapt
ARSENE WENGER admits Granit Xhaka is still adapting to life in the Premier League as his third-most expensive signing of all time remains a peripheral figure at Arsenal.
Only Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez sit above the Switzerland international as the club’s largest transfer spends. But it is almost impossible to imagine that pair being on the fringes of the starting line-up.
But that is exactly where Xhaka, signed this summer for a fee in the region of £34 million, finds himself having started just five Premier League games since his arrival from Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 24-year-old was signed early on in the transfer window as Arsenal fans heralded another big-money deal – but he has found himself on the bench more often than not, despite the fact fellow midfielder Santi Cazorla is currently missing with an Achilles problem.
Xhaka’s arrival was one of the catalysts for Jack Wilshere to request a loan move to play more football and he ended up making a temporary switch to Bournemouth.
And it is Eddie Howe’s Cherries who visit the Emirates Stadium today with Wilshere ineligible against his parent club.
But it is just as likely that Xhaka will find himself a mere spectator as Wenger looks for the right blend in midfield, with Francis Coquelin currently the only player who seems to be a near-permanent fixture in that position for the Gunners.
“He needs to adapt, then we need to find the balance,” Wenger said when asked about Xhaka’s lack of football.
“We have the positional play, he plays in a deeper-lying midfield position, he passes through the lines. He needs to adapt to the way we play and the tactical pace of the English game. I am confident he will do very well.
“If you look at Thierry Henry at the start when he came here, he was not playing. He did not play until November, he was as well 23 years old. We are in November now.”
Asked if Xhaka was finding it difficult at present, Wenger conceded: “Yes, but that is part of the job.
“Out there you will find plenty of players who cost more and don’t play. The market has gone up.”