Arsenal fans should be very happy when they see Granit Xhaka's disciplinary record because he'll add some much-needed steel to the Gunners' midfield

The "new Patrick Vieira " tag has been slapped on
numerous players by Arsenal fans in pure hope, practically since the day he left for Juventus in 2005.

In the search for a replacement for their iconic captain, many have come, gone, or just failed to live up to expectations: Alex Song , Lassana Diarra , Emmanuel Frimpong and of course, Abou "treatment table" Diaby , to name but a few.

But in Granit Xhaka - an imminent £30m arrival from Borussia Monchengladbach - they may have finally found the man to add serious and I mean serious steel to the Gunners' midfield.

Why?

Well, his disciplinary record in the Bundesliga speaks for itself.

Only two players committed more fouls this season 2015/16 than Granit Xhaka (73):

Bundesliga 2015-16: fouls conceded

Sandro Wagner - 96

Lewis Holtby - 75

Granit Xhaka -73

While only one player has earned more red cards than Xhaka (five) over the last three seasons in Europe's top five leagues (England, Germany, Italy, Spain, France):

Red cards in Europe's top five leagues (August 2013-present)

Yannick Cahuzac - 6

Jeison Murillo - 5

Granit Xhaka -5
Source: Opta

Of these five red cards, THREE came in this season alone! Starting to get flashbacks with all-action Vieira and his regular dealings with referees in his earlier Arsenal days, Gooners? I hope you remember.

His stats also make remarkable reading when compared to the Gunners' current options in midfield. Xhaka's 73 fouls this season came in 28 appearances; Francis Coquelin conceded 24 fouls in 26 appearances and Aaron Ramsey 47 in 31 outings.

His tackles won ratio (79%) will also please fans, as it ranks very favourably against the likes of Coquelin (79%), Ramsey (76%), Flamini (65%), Elneny (80%) and Cazorla (82%).

Granit has also been impressive going forward, too as he created 22 goalscoring chances this season - with one being converted - and 85% of his 2,316 passes were completed.

His shooting accuracy came in at 48% - more than Coquelin (0%), Ramsey (46%), Flamini (40%), Elneny (40%) and Cazorla (44%).

So, whisper it quietly, Gooners - but you could be looking at the genuine new Patrick Vieira, at long last...

Source: metro London.