This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Granit Xhaka was not included in Arsenal’s squad for their Europa League match against Vitoria de Guimaraes, having also missed the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This comes after he was offered counselling following the negative reception he received when substituted off against Crystal Palace, as reported by The Daily Mail.
The decision for him to miss the Europa League tie will have put some doubt on whether the 27-year-old will feature against Leicester City, but if he does, the Switzerland international will have the perfect opportunity to prove his doubters wrong.
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Arsenal will be coming up against one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League on Saturday, with Leicester having won 5 of their last 6 games.
Xhaka will need to get the better of James Maddison if he plays, which will be a difficult task, as the 22-year-old has been in talismanic form this campaign, scoring 3 league goals and adding 2 assists, as per WhoScored.
In addition to that, the Englishman has averaged 2.1 key passes and 2.7 dribbles, while also being fouled 2.5 times per game, with these statistics giving an indication of how influential he has been.
Therefore, if Xhaka is able to effectively deal with Maddison, it will show that he has the quality and discipline to be a key midfielder for Arsenal.
A match against a team with Leicester’s form has arguably come at the worst time for Unai Emery, with the Spaniard seemingly under increasing pressure given the Xhaka fiasco and Arsenal’s mediocre results of late.
This only adds to the potential for Xhaka to dispel the criticism of his leadership abilities, as he now has the chance to show he can step up in tough times and lead his team to victory – this is especially poignant after he was stripped of his captaincy on Tuesday.
The circumstances make Saturday’s game a tough task for Arsenal and their former skipper, but this type of fixture is the one in which Xhaka can truly prove his doubters wrong.