Last night was not the game or result Arsenal would’ve been hoping for ahead of their Champions League semi-final next week.
Mikel Arteta’s side lined up against Crystal Palace, who happen to have an FA Cup semi-final this weekend, and put in one of their most lacklustre and underwhelming performances of the entire season, which saw them pick up their 13th Premier League draw of the campaign – the second most in the competition.
From David Raya between the sticks to Raheem Sterling in attack, there were dire displays across the pitch for the Gunners.
However, there was at least one player who put in yet another impressive showing, a player who has made himself undroppable and is starting to resemble Granit Xhaka in certain ways.
The story of Xhaka's redemption at Arsenal
Arsenal paid Borussia Mönchengladbach around £30m for Xhaka in the summer of 2016, and while he wasn’t particularly poor, it would probably be fair to say he underwhelmed for the first few seasons of his career in North London.
However, it was clear from the get-go that he was a passionate player and that, combined with his seniority, saw him handed the captaincy by former manager Unai Emery in September 2019 following a vote from his teammates.
Unfortunately, the team’s results nosedived soon after and, following an unsavoury episode in which he swore and goaded a jeering Emirates before throwing the shirt and armband to the floor, he had the captaincy stripped from him less than two months after receiving it.
The Swiss international would later reveal that at that point, he was set on leaving the club but eventually decided to stay and fight for his reputation after being convinced to do so by the recently appointed Arteta.
While it took some time, the Basel-born titan eventually started to win the fans back onside, and finally, after three years of graft, he was handed the armband again by Arteta in the absence of Martin Odegaard away to Brentford in September 2022, a game that also saw the fans begin to sing his name again, much to his appreciation.
That season would be his best in red and white as he racked up a brilliant tally of nine goals – two of which came in his final game – and seven assists in 47 appearances from central midfield.
Xhaka left the club that summer, but instead of doing so under a cloud of controversy as it seemed he would just a few years earlier, he left as a cult hero and with a rapturous Emirates Stadium singing his name.
Now it looks like a player in the current squad could be crafting something of a cult status for himself this year.
16/17
46
4
3
2
17/18
48
3
8
0
18/19
40
4
5
0
19/20
41
1
2
0
20/21
45
1
2
1
21/22
30
1
2
2
22/23
47
9
7
0
The current Arsenal star with shades of Xhaka
There are probably some of you thinking that the player in question is Mikel Merino, as, after all, the Spaniard is positionally similar to Xhaka and has seen his stock skyrocket among Arsenal fans in recent months, but you’d be wrong.
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Instead, the current Gunners star who is starting to have shades of the Swiss international about him is none other than Jakub Kiwior.
Okay, so we know the pair couldn’t be more different in terms of position and, therefore, playstyle, but where they play has practically nothing to do with this comparison, as it’s based on their standing within the fanbase more than anything else.
For example, just a few months ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who’d had a particularly strong feeling towards the Polish international, as while he’s stepped in here and there, he’s never really looked like a first-team quality player.
In fact, it was only in December that Arsenal podcaster Phil Costa branded the former Spezia ace “shocking,” claiming that “he hasn’t kicked on at all since joining” and that, at the end of the day, “he isn’t good enough.”
Now, in his defence, it wasn’t an uncommon opinion, with content creator and fan Alexander Moneypenny describing the international as “shakey” following his underwhelming performance vs Bayern Munich last season.
So, while there wasn’t the same vitriol that there was surrounding Xhaka’s fall, there was a similar desire from plenty of fans to move the Tychy-born star on and find someone better as soon as possible, which in turn led to some serious concern over how he’d cope covering for Gabriel Magalhães following the Brazilian’s hamstring surgery.
However, instead of becoming a weak spot in the team, the “extraordinary” defender, as dubbed by Robert Lewandowski, has stepped up in a massive way.
For example, aside from a minor mistake early on in the first leg against Real Madrid, he was simply sensational. Moreover, after William Saliba’s mistake that led to a goal in the second leg, there is a strong argument that he was the better centre-back of the pair.
Then again, last night, while the Frenchman made a costly mistake, he was near-enough faultless, scoring a goal, making some impressive tackles and earning himself an 8/10 match rating from journalist Tom Canton, which was more than justified by his statistics.
For example, in 98 minutes of action, he scored, made six clearances, won 100% of his duels, blocked two shots, made one tackle, lost the ball just seven times despite taking 135 touches, completed 115 passes, was accurate with two of three long balls, and was even successful in 100% of his dribbles.
Minutes
98′
Expected Goals
0.04
Goals
1
Clearances
6
Blocked Shos
2
Tackles
1
Dribbled Past
0
Duels (Won)
2 (2)
Lost Possession
7
Touches
135
Passing Accuracy
115/120 (96%)
Long Balls (Accurate)
3 (2)
Shots on Target
1
Dribbles (Successful)
1 (1)
Fouls
0
Ultimately, Kiwior has transformed from a player fans were worried about starting into one who’s outshining Saliba and becoming an increasing fan favourite for the no-nonsense way he’s going about his job – if that doesn’t remind you of Xhaka’s transformation, we don’t know what will.
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