Beyond Arsenal looking to sign a striker, or two, in the summer, the central midfield position continues to be a key point of focus. Only Sambi Lokonga arrived in the summer despite a protracted pursuit of more senior targets.
Arsenal were in the race for Manuel Locatelli, however, the club was beaten once again by Juventus. Instead, to many fans’ frustration, Granit Xhaka stayed and the young Belgian was the only reinforcement.
However, Xhaka has been very good this season. Frankly, he has been a standout for the last two seasons and performed above new signing Thomas Partey for the majority of 2020/21. Finding a replacement for him will need to happen in the near future, but it is a testament to the Swiss international’s contribution how difficult a task this will prove to be.
