Granit Xhaka’s love affair with Arsenal is quite the one. Signed by Arsene Wenger at the young age of 23, he endured and enjoyed a whirlwind spell at the Emirates Stadium.
From being named captain for indiscipline to throwing his armband on the floor against Crystal Palace, to enjoying a late resurgence under manager Mikel Arteta, he is now remembered very fondly by supporters.
But it almost went in the wrong direction. His career in north London appeared to be over when he was stripped of the captaincy. “It was the worst day of my life,” the midfielder revealed in an interview years later.
Once Emery’s time was dusted off, Arteta found a way to revive his career. He became a box-to-box machine under the Spaniard’s command, and while he may not have been captain anymore, he was still a fierce leader and competitor.
Arsenal found a way to bring in Declan Rice to replace him, but another midfielder could arrive in the summer.
Arsenal could sign big-money midfielder
After signing Martin Zvimendi and partner Rice last summer, it would be surprising if the Gunners splurged to sign another talented central player.
They have Christian Norgaard, but given his lack of football experience, he won’t be there for long. Miles Lewis-Skelly could also be a long-term option. His future as a left-back looks bleak given that Riccardo Calafioli and Piero Hincapie are up there, but he could find a role in midfield.
However, there is a possibility that another midfielder will be considered as a candidate in the summer. So says reporter Fabrizio Romano, who published the latest information about Sandro Tonali on his YouTube channel.
The Gunners are said to have begun talks with the Newcastle star’s agent over a future transfer last week, with those talks reportedly initiated by Tonali, who is keen to move to the Emirates Stadium.
According to Romano, the latest information on the situation is that Manchester United have joined the race to sign the Italian.
He said: “Internally Tonali is highly regarded[at Man Utd]but it is not yet clear who will be the top target. He is also on Arsenal’s list of wanting to add a midfielder in the summer window. That is the club’s plan today.”
Further reports from Spain in the past 24 hours suggest that the two clubs, along with Liverpool, are leading the race to sign the Reds, although Eddie Howe and others are expected to demand a huge compensation of £100m for his release.
Why Tonali could become Arsenal’s new Granit Xhaka
Xhaka was a bulldozer of midfielders before becoming something of a goalscoring threat, scoring nine goals during his final campaign in London.
He had, and still has, good technique and beautiful passing width, but he’s also a bit of a savage and a player who can get in between and mark opponents.
During his time with the Gunners, the Swiss international collected countless yellow cards. In fact, only club legend Patrick Vieira (72) has achieved more results than Xhaka (56) in the Premier League.
Most yellow cards in Arsenal history | |
|---|---|
player | yellow |
1) Patrick Vieira | 72 |
2) Granite Xhaka | 56 |
3) ray parlor | 49 |
4) Martin Keown | 48 |
5) Ian Wright | 44 |
6) Cesc Fabregas | 42 |
7) Dennis Bergkamp | 40 |
8) nigel winterburn | 39 |
Premier League era only. | |
Tonali is cut from a very similar fabric. At Newcastle he was a bit more disciplined, averaging four bookings a season, but at Milan he was picking them up for fun. In his last two seasons at the San Siro, the Italian maestro was shown 22 yellow cards.
True fighters and leaders, the two have many similarities, especially in the way they call the play and handle the ball. Over the past 18 months, Tonali’s average pass completion rate was around 85%.
Compared to Xhaka, he is at a dead level. Combining his final season at Arsenal with his debut season at Sunderland, we see him completing an average of 85% of his passes.
From a defensive standpoint, the number of tackles per 90 minutes is similar. Over the past year and a half, the Swiss has scored 1.50 points out of 90, while Tonali has scored 1.7 points.
Perhaps the biggest difference is their involvement in attacks. Xhaka has scored 0.4 goals per 90 minutes in the same time frame, while Tonali has only scored 0.1. To be clear, he’s not much of a goalscorer.
But with Rice on the team, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. The England international could play that role from midfield. Admittedly, Tonali feels a lot like Xhaka in his early days, but as long as he doesn’t succumb to indiscipline, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Better deal than Tonali: Arsenal open talks for future ‘£100m’ star
Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Sandro Tonali.
