‘Worrying’: Lee Dixon simply ‘can’t fathom’ why Arteta continues to pick Granit Xhaka

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Speaking on the Handbrake Off podcast, Lee Dixon has expressed that he struggles to understand why Mikel Arteta continues to pick Granit Xhaka over Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the Arsenal starting XI.

Xhaka has become something of a scapegoat at Arsenal as of late, with a number of pundits criticising his poor performances recently, and unfortunately, we can understand why.

Xhaka has started eight league games this season, and at times it’s been tough to see what he contributes to the Arsenal team, as he’s been a lynchpin in the midfield for Arsenal’s worst ever start to a Premier League season.

Dixon certainly believes that he’s not been good enough, and he wants to see him dropped.

“The manager’s see a lot more than we do, as spectators and as pundits, not all of us, but you have agendas and you’re looking at stuff and people put things in your head. He’s looking at it from every aspect of the team.

“It is worrying when he doesn’t spot certain things that we all spot that you go you know, why isn’t Maitland-Niles playing instead of Xhaka,

“I was listening to Amy (Lawrence), who said the reasons why he might play Xhaka is the experience and stuff like that, but for me Xhaka doesn’t do anything that Maitland-Niles can’t do, so I can’t fathom that one.

Dixon’s criticism of Xhaka didn’t end there either, as later on in the podcast the conversation came back to the Gunners’ midfield and he didn’t hold back when giving his opinion on the Swiss midfielder’s ability.

“If you’ve got a new player who is not fit against Tottenham (Thomas Partey), and a player who doesn’t necessarily understand the game at all from my point of view in Xhaka, then that is a big chunk of the team.”

Dixon isn’t the first pundit to call for Maitland-Niles to start, and he may not be the last.

Maitland-Niles would certainly offer something different to Xhaka due to his pace and energy in the middle of the park, but whether or not he’s the answer to the Gunners’ prayers is up for debate.

This is a player that was very-nearly sold to Wolves this summer, so he may not be the solution that Dixon seems to think he is, but there is certainly an argument to make that he’d do a better job than Xhaka has been doing lately.