Granit Xhaka stripped of Arsenal captaincy, Unai Emery names new skipper

Granit Xhaka stripped of Arsenal captaincy, Unai Emery names new skipper ahead of the Gunners Europa League clash vs Vitoria SC on Wednesday.

Arsenal have had a tumultuous season so far. Despite sitting on the 5th position, a few losses could very well drop them to the bottom half of the table. The North London side are yet to win a match in the Premier League since the recent international break and their captain’s frosty relationship with the fans has just made the situation murkier.

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Granit Xhaka was heavily booed during the match vs Crystal Palace and the Swiss midfielder reacted rather crudely. However, he has since apologised for his behaviour and asked the club to move forward with him. Unfortunately, the club have decided to move on from him and have appointed a new captain.

Granit Xhaka stripped of Arsenal captaincy, Unai Emery names new skipper

Unai Emery confirmed that Granit Xhaka had been removed from his position as club captain in a press conference ahead of their Europa League away encounter at Vitoria SC. Although, he refused to expand on why he took the captaincy off of him.

When asked if there would be another vote, Emery answered that he had already made his decision on the club’s new leader before making the announcement that star player, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is their new permanent captain.

When pressed on Granit Xhaka’s future with the club, Emery gave a rather cryptic answer:

“The future is Arsenal’s future. We have a very important match on Saturday.

“We need to take some decisions… My focus is for tomorrow.

“He is our player; we want to respect him.”

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