Arsenal boss Unai Emery has confirmed the decision to strip Granit Xhaka of the captain’s armband after his spat with fans last month.
The 27-year-old reacted angrily to being jeered as he was substituted in the clash with Crystal Palace at the Emirates, and he went on to take his shirt off and storm straight down the tunnel.
SEE MORE: Confirmed Arsenal squad vs Vitoria: No Xhaka in 18-man travelling group
While he released a statement days after issuing an apology of sort and explaining his actions, he has since been left out of the Arsenal squad for the past three games as the wait has continued for a decision on the captaincy.
As per Football.London writer James Benge in his tweets below as he was present at Emery’s press conference ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Vitoria in the Europa League on Wednesday, the Gunners boss confirmed that Xhaka was no longer captain and that the armband has been handed on to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Naturally, it’s a decision that will no doubt spark plenty of debate and further disagreement over the way in which Arsenal and Emery have handled it, while ultimately perhaps the majority will agree that it was unlikely that Xhaka could continue to be captain after such a reaction towards the fans.
Time will tell if he has a future at all with the north London giants as the wait now goes on until Saturday to see if he’s named in the squad to face Leicester City, but for now what is clear is that Xhaka is no longer the Arsenal captain and has seemingly paid the price for his actions at the end of last month.
Emery has stripped Xhaka of the captaincy
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) November 5, 2019
Aubameyang is now club captain https://t.co/clBV4cRsPh
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) November 5, 2019
