Granit Xhaka's love affair with Arsenal is quite something. Signed as a young 23-year-old by Arsene Wenger, he endured and enjoyed a whirlwind spell at the Emirates Stadium.
From ill-discipline to being made captain, to throwing the armband on the floor against Crystal Palace and then enjoying a late renaissance under Mikel Arteta, he is now very fondly remembered by supporters.
Granit-Xhaka-Arsenal
However, it nearly went very wrong. When he was stripped of the captaincy, his career in north London looked done. "It was the worst day of my life", the midfielder revealed in an interview several years later.
Once the Emery era was done and dusted, Arteta found a way to revive his career. He became a box-to-box machine under the Spaniard and while he may not have been captain anymore, he was still a fierce leader and competitor.
Arsenal have found a way to replace him in the form of Declan Rice, but he could be joined by another midfielder in the summer.
Arsenal could sign big-money midfielder
After signing Martin Zubimendi to partner Rice last summer, it would be a surprise if the Gunners spent big on signing another talented central player.
They do have Christian Norgaard, although his time at the club is unlikely to last too much longer given his lack of football. Myles Lewis-Skelly could also be a long-term option. His future as a left-back looks bleak, considering Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie are ahead of him in the pecking order, but he could find a role in the middle.
norgaard
That said, another new midfielder could be on the cards in the summer. That's according to reporter Fabrizio Romano who took to his YouTube channel to reveal the latest on Sandro Tonali.
The Gunners allegedly opened talks with the Newcastle star's agents last week regarding a future move and has been reported that those conversations were initiated by Tonali who is keen on moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Well, the latest on that situation, according to Romano, is that Manchester United have joined them in the race to sign the Italian.
He said: "Internally, Tonali is appreciated [at Man Utd], but it’s not clear yet who is going to be the top target. He's also on the list at Arsenal who want to add a midfielder in the summer window, that’s the plan at the club as of today."
Sandro Tonali Newcastle-1
Further reports from Spain in the last 24 hours have suggested that the two clubs are leading the race alongside Liverpool to acquire his signature, although Eddie Howe and Co are set to demand a whopping £100m to let him go.
Why Tonali could be Arsenal's new Granit Xhaka
Before Xhaka became something of a goalscoring menace, scoring nine times during his final campaign in London, he was a bulldozer of a midfielder.
He possessed and still does possess excellent technique and a beautiful range of passing but he's also a bit of a brute, a player capable of getting stuck in and making his mark on the opposition.
During his time with the Gunners, the Switzerland international racked up an almighty number of yellow cards. In fact, only club legend Patrick Vieira (72) has picked up more than Xhaka (56) in the Premier League era.
Most yellow cards in Arsenal history
Player
1) Patrick Vieira
2) Granit Xhaka
3) Ray Parlour
4) Martin Keown
5) Ian Wright
6) Cesc Fabregas
7) Dennis Bergkamp
8) Nigel Winterburn
Premier League era only.
Tonali is very much cut from a similar cloth. While his discipline has been a little better at Newcastle, claiming up an average of four cautions a season, when at Milan, he was picking them up for fun. In his last two campaigns at the San Siro, the Italian maestro was shown 22 yellow cards.
A real battler and leader, there are more similarities between the two, notably in the way they dictate play and play the ball around. Over the last 18 months, Tonali has averaged a pass success rate of about 85%.
Xhaka-Sunderland
In comparison to Xhaka, they are dead level. Combining his final season at Arsenal with his debut campaign at Sunderland showcases that he has also completed an average of 85% of his passes.
From a defensive standpoint, they also make a similar number of tackles per 90 minutes. Over the last year and a half, the Swiss has registered 1.50 per 90 compared to Tonali who has completed 1.7.
Sandro-Tonali-Newcastle
Perhaps the biggest difference is their attacking involvement. While Xhaka has netted 0.4 goals per 90 minutes over the same time frame, Tonali has only managed 0.1. He's not much of a goalscorer, let's be clear.
However, with Rice in the team, he wouldn't necessarily need to be. The England international is capable of providing that role from midfield. Indeed, it feels like Tonali is more of an early days Xhaka and there's nothing wrong with that, providing he doesn't let ill-discipline get the better of him.
Sandro-Tonali-Newcastle Related
[Better signing than Tonali: Arsenal open talks to land future "£100m" star](https://www.footballfancast.com/better-signing-than-tonali-arsenal-open-talks-to-land-bouaddi/ "Better signing than Tonali: Arsenal open talks to land future "£100m" star")
Arsenal are reportedly interested in signing Sandro Tonali.