Here is a glimpse at the amazing statistics which reveal how Granit Xhaka has become a “serious box-to-box” midfielder.
Xhaka has been a key part of Arsenal ’s remarkable season which has seen the Gunners storm five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The midfielder has also been one of the best stories of the campaign as he has reinvented himself under Mikel Arteta to become a firm fans-favourite.
Gunners boss Arteta has made Switzerland captain Xhaka a cornerstone of his line-up and his impressive stats reveal just how hard he works during every game to cover every blade of grass.
Sports data specialists STATSports have compiled the figures which help players, managers and coaches monitor performance levels. They have shared exclusively the data from their England ambassadors and Arsenal players heading to the World Cup which are compiled across several games and feature the player’s personal best from the season so far.
Xhaka’s stats really stand out, with the total distance covered of 11.43km in a game nearly 1km more than some of his teammates.
Barry Watters, STATSports Head of Sport Science, said: “In how Arsenal play and how Granit Xhaka is used in that system - he is a box-to-box midfielder with serious energy getting around the field.
“Hence, we see high total distance and m/min here for Xhaka, due to his role both in attack and defence. He drops in when Arsenal lose position and when in position, he plays in line with [Martin] Odegaard and offers an attacking option.
“His High Intensity Distance (HMLD) metric is really strong – which is down to his role in midfield and lots of sharp short bursts of acceleration and decelerations, making space to receive the ball in possession and closing the ball down when out of position.
“His big HSR metric is achieved in areas where he has space to run into on the counterattack, or if they lose the ball and he needs to transition to get deep and protect the back four and break up play.
“He is likely quicker than 34.09 (Km/h) if he had a straight 60m run but he never really gets that opportunity in game, so the speeds here are game and tactic-based game related max speeds.”
Bukayo Saka’s speed is highly impressive while the emergence of Benjamin White at right back has seen him earn a call-up for England’s World Cup squad.
Watters said: “You can see White is extremely quick in terms of game max speed, and this allows him to transition to attacking positions quickly, overlapping the wide players with knowledge that if needed, he can recover and get back into shape quickly.
“His high intensity distance (HMLD) comes from closing down players and short sharp bursts along with his transitions between defence and attack.
“Saka is explosive off the mark and a lot of this can be used on transitions and to get in behind the defence. His work rate is also high, from his best total distance and m/min - showing he works just as hard in his defensive role.”
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England also use the STATSports data along with Premier League clubs and being able to share data - via the STATSports Exchange network - will be key in ensuring that, despite the gruelling and unique challenges of the season, players’ fitness can be managed.
Watters added: “How players’ volume and intensity of training and minutes played in the lead up and during the tournament is extremely important.
“An aspect of this is data sharing between club and national teams using the STATSports Exchange. This allows National team performance staff to understand the volumes and intensities players have been involved in preceding the World Cup.
“Post tournament this will also be hugely important as National teams share data back to clubs before they get straight into domestic competitions.”
