This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Granit Xhaka has endured a tough time at Arsenal since reacting to the fans’ boos when he was substituted off against Crystal Palace.
In that time, he has been stripped of the captaincy by Unai Emery and replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, while it is now being questioned whether he will be staying at the club any longer.
With this in mind, the 27-year-old was likely looking forward to the international break, as he hadn’t played in either of the three games between the big incident and heading away with the Switzerland national team.
He certainly took his opportunity to impress for his country, being named as Man of the Match by SofaScore for their 1-0 win over Georgia.
Even if it was against a European minnow, Xhaka put in a superb all-round performance to help the team earn their victory.
He had a lot of control over the game, taking a total of 135 touches, while he also completed 92% of his attempted passes and played 6 key passes throughout the 90 minutes.
In addition, he won 10 duels, as well as making an effective defensive contribution of 1 clearance, 1 blocked shot, 1 interception and 3 tackles.
This is unlikely to make a difference for Arsenal, as it is still unknown whether Xhaka will play for them, but this should definitely act as a boost for the midfielder and remind any potential suitors – such as Newcastle and AC Milan – the level of ability he can offer them.
