Former Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has admitted that he has been left surprised by Unai Emery’s decision to deploy Granit Xhaka at left-back for Arsenal in recent games.
The Gunners suffered a blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday in the Premier League to put a halt to their 11 game winning streak across all competitions.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 14th |
| 2023–24 | 9th |
| 2022–23 | 14th |
| 2021–22 | 7th |
| 2020–21 | 6th |
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 16th |
| 2023–24 | 14th |
| 2022–23 | 13th |
| 2021–22 | 10th |
| 2020–21 | 13th |
Emery’s decision to deploy Xhaka at left-back against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League due to injuries suffered by Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal worked out as Arsenal snatched a 1-0 win.
However, the Switzerland international struggled during the game against Crystal Palace when he came up against Wilfried Zaha, who was able to force Xhaka to concede a penalty that helped the hosts salvage a point in the end.
Hitzfeld is surprised with Emery’s decision to field Xhaka as a left-back despite Arsenal's injury concerns and insisted that the Switzerland international belongs in the centre of the park.
“I am totally surprised. The coach must have a huge squad to give up playing him in the centre [of midfield]”, Hitzfeld told Swiss daily Blick.
“He does have the game intelligence to play left-back.
"But that is not his position.
"He belongs in the centre.”
Arsenal will be hoping that either Monreal or Kolasinac recover in time for the Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Emirates on Saturday.
| Season | Position |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2023–24 | 5th (Championship — lost in play‑off semi‑finals) |
| 2022–23 | 9th (Championship) |
| 2021–22 | 10th (Championship) |
| 2020–21 | 19th (Premier League) |
