EPL: His departure causing problems for Arsenal – Gibbs on midfielder

<p>Former Arsenal midfielder, Kieran Gibbs, has insisted that midfielder Granit Xhaka’s departure is causing problems for the Gunners.</p>, <p>Gibbs believes Arsenal should have avoided offloading Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer after their recent Premier League 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United over the weekend.</p>, <p>Speaking to ESPN, Gibbs said, “I think the absence of Xhaka has actually caused their attack not to be fluid.</p>, <p>“He probably had his best season last season, let’s be honest, after a long spell at the club.</p>, <p>“I don’t think he was underrated last season. I think he was appreciated more for what he was doing.”</p>, <p>He added, “He calmed down his antics with his fouls and stuff. He just cleaned up a lot of his game. I felt he was a really good link. He gave that balance, especially when Zinchenko came in last season and started to play inverted, it gave Xhaka a bit of a different role.</p>, <p>“I do think it is having a bigger effect on the team than most people think. I do think it’s a problem. I think Arteta wanted Havertz to fill that role. It has not worked out so far.”</p>