Roma agree £15.5 million deal for Xhaka. Is that a fair price for Arsenal?

By Tom Canton


Published: June 9, 2021 3:50 pm

Last Updated: June 9, 2021 4:01 pm

Roma agree Xhaka fee

Arsenal and Roma have finally agreed on a fee for Switzerland international Granit Xhaka. The former Borussia Monchengladbach player has been linked with a move to the Italian side for a couple of weeks now.

Having spent a number of years at Arsenal he has become a divisive figure amongst the fanbase and there are large proportions who will not be concerned to see him leave.

However, he has still been an extremely important part of Mikel Arteta’s, and Unai Emery’s and Arsene Wenger’s before him, team.

He has one of the highest cumulative minutes of all his teammates each season and is an influential figure in the dressing room.

At 28 he is still in his prime with many more years to give, especially for a player of his style.

Which is why the ~£15.5 million fee associated with the deal may come as a surprise.

Arsenal’s Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka (R) has this shot saved during the English FA Cup third round football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium in London on January 9, 2021. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Why is the fee so low?

Of course this will have something to do with the pandemic, however, when the man reportedly targeted to replace Xhaka, Ruben Neves of Wolves, is touted to have an associated fee around three times greater it makes for grim reading.

All the latest on the Ruben Neves to Arsenal transfer rumours.https://t.co/WCWTPZ0rWj

— Arsenal FC News (@ArsenalFC_fl) June 8, 2021

Some may argue that £15 million off of a £35 million price tag is a decent discount. However, Arsenal have been so poor at selling players in the past that yet another meagre sale on the balance sheet will not improve their reputation in the market.

A move between Premier League clubs is always going to garner a premium on any price and that shouldn’t be neglected, but it is tough to shake the on-the-surface perception of the Gunners selling on the cheap yet again.

Although the club do have additional factors going against them. Xhaka was open to the move, the club need to export a number of non-homegrown players to reinvest and of course there is always questions about Arsenal’s financial muscle with a lack of investment from their owners.

What will make the £15.5m pill easier to swallow will be whatever follows. A strong window and likely all will be forgotten, fail to secure top signings, and the hole left by the Swiss midfielder may be a sinking one for the Gunners’ upcoming season.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City FC	38	51	86
2	Manchester United FC	38	29	74
3	Liverpool FC	38	26	69
4	Chelsea FC	38	22	67
5	Leicester City FC	38	18	66
6	West Ham United FC	38	15	65
7	Tottenham Hotspur FC	38	23	62
8	Arsenal FC	38	16	61
9	Leeds United	38	8	59
10	Everton FC	38	-1	59
11	Aston Villa FC	38	9	55
12	Newcastle United FC	38	-16	45
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	38	-16	45
14	Crystal Palace FC	38	-25	44
15	Southampton FC	38	-21	43
16	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	38	-6	41
17	Burnley FC	38	-22	39
18	Fulham FC	38	-26	28
19	West Bromwich Albion	38	-41	26
20	Sheffield United FC	38	-43	23

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Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	23
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	17
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	17
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	17
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton FC	16
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	15
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa FC	14
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	13
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	12
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	12
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	12
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	12
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	11
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	11
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	11
Bale, Gareth	Tottenham Hotspur FC	11
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace FC	11
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
McGinn, John	Aston Villa FC	0	12
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion	0	11
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC	0	11
Phillips, Kalvin	Leeds United	0	10
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur FC	0	9
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace FC	1	8
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa FC	0	8
Holgate, Mason	Everton FC	0	9
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	1	8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United FC	1	7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC	0	8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	7
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal FC	0	8
Andersen, Joachim	Fulham FC	1	7
Egan, John	Sheffield United FC	1	7
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC	0	8
Dallas, Stuart	Leeds United	0	7
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC	0	7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC	0	7

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	14
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	11
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	10
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa FC	10
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	9
Raphinha	Leeds United	9
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	8
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	8
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United	8
Werner, Timo	Chelsea FC	8
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	8
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United FC	8
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	7
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	7
Firmino, Roberto	Liverpool FC	7
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	7
Eze, Eberechi	Crystal Palace FC	7
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	7
Robertson, Andrew	Liverpool FC	7

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