Ian Holloway has compared Fabian Delph to Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, claiming that Everton have the better player.
Switzerland international Xhaka drew criticism following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday, with Arsenal coming back from 2-0 down to claim a point at the Emirates.
Xhaka made a shocking challenge in the box on Heung-min Son to give Tottenham a penalty, chopped the South Korean down despite their being no immediate threat to Bernd Leno’s goal.
Speaking on talkSPORT (via Express Sport), former Premier League manager Holloway questioned why Xhaka still gets into Arsenal’s line-up, and comparing him negatively to Everton’s Delph. Holloway said:
Well for me I’m looking at what I think who is probably the signing of the season for Everton in Fabian Delph.
If Arsenal had Fabian Delph playing the way he did yesterday for Everton, do you see what I’m saying?
Because Delph read so many things yesterday and I don’t see Xhaka doing that.
Delph moved to Goodison Park from Manchester City this summer in a deal worth around £8.5million.
Read Everton Verdict
As someone who was quite critical of the signing of Fabian Delph this summer, I’m not quite ready to fully backtrack although I must admit that Delph has impressed in his first two appearances.
The England international adds much needed quality and experience to Everton’s midfield, particularly in the absence of Idrissa Gueye now, with the Senegal man a huge miss for the Toffees.
Whether he’ll prove to be a Gareth Barry type signing for Everton, time will tell, but it has been a positive start to be sure.
