‘I never thought I’d say it’: Jamie Redknapp says Arsenal are actually missing £21m player now

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Arsenal haven’t really looked right all season long.

The Gunners have picked up a number of points, and, for a long time, they were leading the race for the title, but the performances haven’t quite been there all season, and now, that’s catching up with them.

Indeed, Arsenal have been getting away with it for a while, but now, their poor performances are catching up to them and they’re dropping points.

So, what’s the problem? Well, speaking on Sky Sports (31/12/23 1:35PM), Jamie Redknapp has claimed that the Gunners are actually missing Granit Xhaka in their midfield right now.

Arsenal are missing Xhaka

Redknapp spoke about the £21m man

“I have no doubt from an attacking point of view that they miss Granit Xhaka. He was a creative force in that team. He was brilliant last year when they came here and beat Fulham. They do miss him, I never thought I’d say it, but they have done this year,” Redknapp said.

Not clicking

Redknapp makes a great point here.

This Arsenal team isn’t clicking in the way it once was, and that’s because they don’t have that conduit between the defence and the midfield in the same way they did last term.

Declan Rice has been a good signing, sure, but he’s playing more and more as a traditional number six – he didn’t get forward much at all against Fulham, and it’s that left-sided player who needs to be the creative force, breaking lines and driving the team forward.

Kai Havertz, simply, doesn’t have that skill in his locker, and Arsenal do indeed look like a worse team without Xhaka in the side.

For years, Xhaka’s ability was questioned, but it does look as though the Gunners may have taken the Swiss star for granted. After all, he is shining in the Bundesliga right now.