There’s a lot to like about Granit Xhaka.

Aside from his arrestingly-handsome jawline, the Swiss has a wonderful left foot and a superb passing range. He’s a leader and organizer in an Arsenal midfield that has looked increasingly frail ever since Gilberto Silva called time on his career in England. He always offers up a screamer or two each season, be it a thundered strike from 30 yards or a curled free-kick past a diving goalkeeper. He quite often goes a number of games quietly going about his business, winning and distributing possession effectively with little to no fuss.

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, he does something stupid. Really stupid. Something that directly costs Arsenal points. As fans, we wonder how someone with his experience and guile can make such costly errors and never seem to learn from his rash mistakes. Mistakes that are drilled out of you on Sunday league pitches. And so the cycle continues.

Sunday’s North London derby saw another vintage Xhaka error. Already a goal down and under pressure from a Spurs side increasing in confidence, Arsenal’s captain opted to dive in at the ankles of an onrushing Son Heung-min, ultimately giving referee Martin Atkinson the easiest decision he’d made all day. The resulting penalty was predictably fired home by Harry Kane and Arsenal were 2-0 down, at home, in the derby.

The defensive frailties shown by the Arsenal backline that handed their greatest rivals a two-goal lead served as a stark reminder that, despite an unexpectedly promising summer transfer window, serious work was still to be done. If the humbling 3-1 defeat at Anfield the week prior had already delivered that sobering message, the sight of the club’s captain diving at the feet of the Spurs man inside his own penalty area surely rubbed stamped it. Granit Xhaka was not the sole culprit for his side’s poor defensive performance, but he sure made it impossible not to notice him as one of the protagonists in it.

Looking ahead, there are two main issues the 26-year-old faces when considering his long-term future at Arsenal. The first is that he stands out, more than anyone else in the Gunners’ squad, as a relic of the underwhelming squad put together by Arsene Wenger in his final years as manager. Some of the worst aspects of Wenger’s final sides – which were error-prone, ponderous and lacking in dynamism – are reflected in Xhaka’s game and how he plays. Unai Emery is yet to create a convincing brand of football at Arsenal in his own name, but it is clear that he asks his players to play with much more energy and urgency than his predecessor did. Whilst Xhaka cannot be faulted for his professionalism and willingness to adapt to Emery’s style – he was hardly afraid to come deep and ask for the ball under pressure under Wenger’s stewardship – it’s becoming increasingly apparent that he looks to be being left behind in a side trying to evolve around him.

The second issue facing Xhaka is that, for the first time in his Arsenal career, he faces serious competition for his place in the midfield. During his first season at the club, Xhaka’s status as a more cultured, ball-playing midfielder earned him precedence over the more limited Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin. Jack Wilshere’s loan move to Bounrmeouth and the devastating injury to Santi Cazorla only increased Wenger’s dependence on the ball-paying abilities of the Swiss. However, the depth and quality in Arsenal’s midfield is not what it once was, and Xhaka now founds himself struggling in comparison to a new selection of teammates who offer strength where he is weak.

In Dani Ceballos and Joe Willock, the Arsenal midfield now boasts creative talent who can influence the game from deep as opposed to simply relying on Mesut Ozil to pull the strings from a position directly behind the attack. Ceballos in particular plays with a fevered energy that disrupts opposition attacks before launching his side’s own, a skill that is already endearing him to the Emirates faithful. Willock has surprised many by his development, and whilst he and Xhaka offer very varying skillsets, his rise from promising youth prospect to a legitimate first-team option gives Emery further flexibility when it comes to picking his midfield. With that said, however, it is Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi – the two men who started alongside Xhaka on Sunday – who pose the biggest threat to his first-team place.

Torreira’s qualities were regularly on show last season, with the Uruguayan offering a terrier-like bite to Arsenal’s midfield whilst simultaneously engaging in some respectable attacking and creative playmaking that the likes of Coquelin and Elneny had failed to do in years gone by. Guendouzi, simultaneously the youngest and best player on the pitch in the derby, plays with a composure that defies his years, and his sumptuous assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s equalizer was the cherry on top of what was an incredibly well-rounded and mature display.

The fact that what felt like a true coming-of-age performance for Guendouzi came in the same game as yet another of Xhaka’s costly mistakes felt apt. The lusciously-maned Frenchman is starting to look like the heir apparent to his more experienced colleague, and during a period where Arsenal are attempting to evolve and move away from the failures that has seen them drop down to a Europa League level, the justifications for sticking with Xhaka at the heart of this midfield are becoming wearyingly thin.

It’s hard to make the case that Emeryball is a tangible, recognizable entity at this time, but it’s clear that the club’s head coach is seeking to craft a side that presses hard and can play out from deep with assurance and speed. As his influence on this side becomes more pronounced, it becomes increasingly difficult to envisage an Arsenal midfield containing Granit Xhaka that plays successfully in this way, and the qualities he does possess can be found in the other options Emery now finds at his disposal.

At the time of writing, the Swiss remains as Arsenal’s de-facto captain and looks set to continue to be so for the rest of the season. Emery has persisted with the “group of five captains” idea he introduced upon his arrival last summer, and whilst many fans think rather poorly of the concept, it does feel like a diplomatic solution to potential dressing room unrest. Can a captain really be dropped if he’s not really the captain? It certainly seemed to give the coach some leeway when consistently leaving out Mesut Ozil last season, and it perhaps gives more scope for taking Xhaka out of team before too long.

Emery publicly backed Xhaka after the game, but from that statement you can’t deduce much. It doesn’t seem his style to publicly hang his players out to dry if he sees them playing regularly during the season. That said, with a fanbase expecting much and plenty of potential goodwill lost after the dismal end to the 2018/19 season, it might be in his best interests to take bolder decisions in his team selections and sacrifice experience for youthful vigour. There’s a long season ahead and lots of football to be played, but if this Arsenal side is to reach its potential this season and arrest its steady decline, the club cannot wait for a player incapable of learning the simplest of footballing lessons.