Jamie Redknapp suggests that Arsenal may be regretting their decision to sell Granit Xhaka last summer, especially as they face some minor struggles on the pitch.
Xhaka’s departure surprised many Arsenal fans, given his strong performances in the previous season. Despite this, Arsenal expressed confidence in Kai Havertz as his replacement and approved his sale to Bayer Leverkusen.
While Xhaka is leading a title charge in Germany, Arsenal has found it challenging to fill the void he left at the Emirates with Havertz. Although Havertz is a talented player, his performances since joining Arsenal have been unconvincing, though he has improved in recent weeks.
After a loss to Aston Villa, Redknapp believes that Arsenal is feeling the absence of Xhaka’s impact on their team.
He said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
‘I think if you were to assess Arsenal this season the facts are there – they are seven points down on where they were last year and seven goals less.
‘The performances haven’t been quite as fluid. There was so much to enjoy. The back four hasn’t changed but in midfield with Havertz, is he an upgrade on Xhaka? Right now I would say no.
‘I think (they miss Xhaka). He had that quality, he gave you that bit of positional sense. He’d get it onto his left foot, he’d create balls into Jesus and he just gave you that bit of guile which is something they’re not possessing.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Xhaka was superb last season, and some of us doubted that we could easily replace the Swiss midfielder.
Those fears have become true, and we are paying a price for letting such a key player leave the club.
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