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Arsenal are considering selling Granit Xhaka in January.
The Swiss international was finally stripped of the captaincy of the club on Tuesday, a full ten days after he reacted angrily to being substituted in the match against Crystal Palace and abused the home fans as he slowly made his way off the pitch.
After a long silence he issued a statement on his Instagram account which was more an explanation for his actions rather than the full apology most supporters demanded and expected, and now, after prevaricating for more than a week, the club have finally acted, and confirmed he is no longer part of the leadership group.
Manager Unai Emery meanwhile has attempted to draw a line under the matter, whilst refusing to confirm if Xhaka will ever play for the club again saying “We’re speaking a lot about that. It’s clear. There’s no more words about that..”
However, with Xhaka having burned his bridges with large sections of the fan base, the club are considering selling him when the transfer window open, fearful of the reaction he might receive if he takes to the field again in an Arsenal shirt.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the new club captain.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.