Jamie Redknapp has highlighted one transfer that Arsenal are being made to rue this season.
The Gunners are enjoying a fine campaign but after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, they now sit second after Liverpool beat Crystal Palace earlier in the day.
John McGinn’s seventh-minute strike was enough for Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park as they won their 15th home league game in a row, although Arsenal thought they had equalised before Kai Havertz’s last minute goal was disallowed for handball.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side did miss several other chances to equalise and they seemed out-of-sorts during parts of the game.
And Redknapp – speaking post-game on Sky Sports – insisted that Arsenal missed Granit Xhaka, after they sold him to Bayer Leverkusen for £21.4million in the summer.
‘I think if you were to assess Arsenal this season the facts are there – they are seven points down on where they were last year and seven goals less,’ he said.
‘The performances haven’t been quite as fluid. There was so much to enjoy. The back four hasn’t changed but in midfield with Havertz, is he an upgrade on Xhaka? Right now I would say no.
‘I think (they miss Xhaka). He had that quality, he gave you that bit of positional sense. He’d get it onto his left foot, he’d create balls into Jesus and he just gave you that bit of guile which is something they’re not possessing.’
Havertz – who was signed from Chelsea for £65m in the summer – has had a mixed start to life at the Emirates.
After initially struggling, he scored a vital winner against Brentford last month, while he also netted in the 4-3 comeback victory over Luton on Tuesday.
However, Redknapp felt Havertz has negatively impacted upon the Gunners’ team structure.
He added: ‘Havertz has had a good little run this last few weeks. But they’ve not quite got that balance they had last year where they would dominate teams for 90 minutes.’
This is something Arteta even touched upon in the build-up to the game as he explained: ‘He (Xhaka) was a huge player for us. We miss Granit, yes. I miss him as well because I love him as a person.’
Xhaka made 297 appearances over seven seasons at Arsenal after joining from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016.
Despite his high-profile falling out with the club’s supporters that saw him stripped of the captaincy in 2019, he resurrected his Gunners career and left on a high at the end of last season.
He has shone so far at Bayer Leverkusen, with Xabi Alonso’s side upsetting the odds to sit top of the Bundesliga.
Arteta’s side return to Premier League action next Sunday when they host Brighton at the Emirates.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
