Premier League: Granit Xhaka is a liability for Arsenal - but he's not a lost cause

The figures don’t make for especially positive reading. In just three seasons Granit Xhaka has been shown no fewer than nine red cards, and the Swiss midfielder sent off for the second time as an Arsenal player on Sunday. Just to put that into perspective, Joey Barton has only been sent off six times over the course of his entire career, with Patrick Vieira shown red eight times.

Indeed, Xhaka is earning quite the reputation for himself, with the red card already marked by Premier League referees. He’s only started 15 matches in the English top flight since joining in the summer from Borussia Monchengladbach, but he’s only lasted 13 of those games without being sent off. No player in Europe’s big five leagues has been sent off more than him since the start of last season. That’s a major blot against his record.

In a very short space of time Xhaka has become a liability for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger will now be wary of such a disciplinary record before naming him in his starting lineup from now on. But this doesn’t mean that the 24-year-old should be considered a lost cause. Far from it.

Xhaka might not be the ready-made, polished one-man midfield solution Arsenal fans hoped he would be upon joining in the summer, but his red card record doesn’t mean he can’t still become a key figure for the Gunners. In fact, his red card record could actually be illustrative of why he still holds so much promise.

Arsenal are, after all, crying out for some aggression in the middle of the park. Francis Coquelin brings that to a certain degree, but he lacks the technical and physical capabilities to truly impose himself on a game. That’s why Xhaka remains so valuable to Arsenal. If he can channel his aggression in the right way, in the way someone like Vieira used to, he could become a linchpin to Wenger.

It would admittedly help if Xhaka could keep himself on the pitch for longer, if he could guarantee he would be on the pitch as long as Wenger wanted him there. But his aggression shouldn’t be considered a flaw, rather the red cards he has received over the past three seasons are just the misguided manifestation of that aggression.

And so Arsenal must be wary of eliminating that from Xhaka’s game altogether. It’s worth assessing whether he is really a dirty player in the first place. Wenger doesn’t believe so, instead insisting that the Swiss is merely “clumsy” when tackling. Wenger believes Xhaka’s attacking instinct is what makes him sometimes so rash in the challenge.

“Intelligence means you don’t make the same mistake twice, and I hope he learns from that,” he said after the weekend’s win over Burnley, during which Xhaka was sent off. “Before in Germany he had some [disciplinary problems], but I think he’s not a dirty player at all. Sometimes he makes some clumsy tackles because he’s not a natural defender, he is a guy who likes to go forward. But I will speak to him.”

Of course, now there are questions over Xhaka’s overall character as a person, not just a player, with the Swiss questioned by police following allegations he racially abused an airline staff member at Heathrow on Monday night. These are serious accusations and Arsenal might have an ethical issue to address if Xhaka is found guilty.

Looking strictly at his on-the-field attributes and traits, though, Xhaka holds plenty promise as the midfield cornerstone to carry Arsenal for many years to come. There are no doubts over his technical ability, his capacity to create, even if he is yet to to rack up any meaningful goals or assist statistics this seasons. His red card record just illustrates a flaw, but that flaw is certainly one that can be straightened out.

Xhaka’s volatility makes him something of an exception at Arsenal, but a welcome one. As a club that have become far too comfortable with the status quo, the Gunners could use a spot of volatility, as long as it comes in the right form. They shouldn’t be too concerned about Xhaka’s red cards. The right form will come.