Arsenal are a different team this season. There’s no doubt about it.
The Gunners have gone from being one of the softest and weakest teams in the Premier League to the most fearsome, free-flowing and sturdy teams in all of England.
The north London outfit have transformed, and so have some of their players.
Ben White has become one of the most trustworthy full-backs in the league, William Saliba looks like the best defender in Europe, while the biggest change has come from Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss midfielder, after years of being lambasted at Arsenal, has become a true fan favourite as a roaming number eight, and he’s also become one of the most potent attacking threats at Arsenal.
With four goals and three assists to his name so far this season, Xhaka has become one of Arsenal’s most important players in the final third, and that was almost unthinkable just a few months ago.
Indeed, cast your mind back to the end of last season and you may remember that Xhaka had a spell of being utilised as a left-back, a tactical decision that now, in hindsight, looks absolutely baffling.
Of course, Mikel Arteta had to improvise at the time due to an injury to Kieran Tierney and the shocking form of Nuno Tavares, but now, the idea of using Xhaka as a left-back seems totally alien.
This is a player who is absolutely bossing games in the midfield and making a real impact in the final third, and the thought of the player we’ve seen this season being used as a left-back is absolutely baffling.
The fact that the Xhaka at left-back experiment was only seven months ago is remarkable. It feels like a completely different era at Arsenal and it goes to show just how far the London club have come in such a short space of time.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
