Xhaka was given the full 90 minutes against Bournemouth and delivered a mixed performance.
Ray Houghton has told talkSPORT that Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is incapable of making an impact off the substitutes’ bench and needs to start games in order to influence proceedings.
The Switzerland international was billed as the answer to Arsene Wenger’s midfield conundrum when he arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach following a couple of exceptional years in the Bundesliga, with his tenacity and combative style complemented with the guile required of an Arsenal midfielder.
However, after a bright start to life in England, including a swerving long-range stunner against Hull City, Xhaka’s influence waned, with his start in Sunday’s 3-1 win against Bournemouth only his sixth of the league campaign.
However, the 24-year-old failed to dominate proceedings alongside Mohamad Elneny as the visitors monopolised possession at the Emirates Stadium, although Houghton believes he needs to be given a run of starts in order to prove his worth.
“I don’t think he’s a good sub, he doesn’t get up to speed quickly enough,” Houghton said on the Sunday Exclusive, broadcast on talkSPORT at 1:00pm on Sunday 27 November.
“But he’s got great passing range, he can play 60 yard balls and when you look at [Alexis] Sanchez [Theo] Walcott and [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, they have the pace to run behind any defence and he can find them.”
Xhaka was given only a combined 23 minutes to make an impact in Arsenal’s fortuitous draws with Manchester United and PSG this month, with the Gunners’ inability to impose their usual passing game potentially linked to the absence of the powerful distributor.
His lack of match action has come as a surprise, especially with Santi Cazorla out injured, although Wenger told the Guardian that he wanted to give his new signing as much time as possible to acclimatise to the rigours of the English game.
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