Stats on national duty show that Granit Xhaka is back to his best

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Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka stole the show as Switzerland hammered Gibraltar 6-1 in the European qualifiers on Monday.

Granit Xhaka’s future at Arsenal is on the ropes after his outburst against home fans in the game against Crystal Palace over three weeks ago. The Swiss international has been stripped off his captaincy after the incident and hasn’t featured for the Gunners in any competition since.

The 27-year-old will not be short of suitors if he is forced out with RSI claiming that he is house-hunting in Italy where AC Milan are tipped to be the favourites to land him in the January transfer window. Xhaka would definitely be a very good signing for Milan who are struggling with just four wins out of their first 12 games.

Xhaka looks to have his confidence back with two fine performances for his national team over the last week against minnows Georgia and Gibraltar. The former Basel man has been a confidence player throughout his career and with Arsenal struggling, is it really the right time to let him leave?

When used in a system that favours him, Xhaka is one of the best in the league at what he does. His distribution from the deep is outstanding and it is something that the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can thrive on when the Gunners play on the counter-attack.

Xhaka played a box-to-box role against Gibraltar yesterday and had a solid game. Although against inferior opposition, the midfielder showed why he is so highly regarded by the likes of Arsene Wenger and that he might still have a way back at the Emirates.

He scored a very good goal to end the game for his country but his all-round display was simply exceptional. He had 126 touches of the ball and maintained an impressive 84% passing accuracy. He completed seven out of his nine long balls and completed 100% of his dribbles. He made two interceptions and two tackles and lost just two of his nine ground duels which is hugely impressive considering his critics over the last few months. (SofaScore)

Arsenal shouldn’t really rush into the decision of selling him in January without actually giving him another chance. Xhaka, in a box-to-box role, is capable of bossing most games in the league and selling him without having a suitable replacement ready would be foolish considering how poor they have looked this season.