Granit Xhaka stripped of Arsenal captaincy, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang replaces midfielder

Granit Xhaka has been stripped of his role as Arsenal captain, manager Unai Emery has confirmed.

The decision comes after his incredible outburst at his own fans while he was being substituted during a draw at home to Crystal Palace on October 27.

He is understood to have told the Arsenal faithful to ‘f*** off’ at the Emirates Stadium.

And Emery has taken action following the incident, announcing that Xhaka is no longer the club captain.

Emery said: “I had a meeting with him and told him he is no longer in the captain’s group.

“He accepted my decision. We need to carry on and focus on tomorrow’s match. I needed to take a decision and now it’s closed.”

Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 30, has been appointed the new captain of Arsenal.

Xhaka will also not play any part of their Europa League match in Portugal on Wednesday as he has been left out of the Gunners’ squad.

This will be the third match Xhaka has missed since his incredible rant, with the Switzerland international not included in the squads for their Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool as well as their draw to Wolves in the Premier League.

Xhaka issued a statement where he apologised for any offence caused but cited the abuse aimed at his wife and daughter as the reason behind his outburst.

He said: “My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and in social media over the last weeks and months have me deeply.

“People have said things like, ‘We will break your legs’, ‘Kill your wife’ and ‘Wish that your daughter gets cancer’.

“That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.

“In this situation, I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that support our club, our team and myself with positive energy.

“That has not been my intention and I’m sorry if that’s what people thought.”

Other senior players have also been left at home ahead of Arsenal’s match at Vitoria Guimaraes – which you can listen to LIVE on talkSPORT 2, kick-off 3:50pm.

The likes of Aubameyang, Calum Chambers and David Luiz are all not travelling for a number of reasons.

Gunners boss Unai Emery is therefore likely to name a number of young players in his starting XI, with the likes of Joe Willock, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson all making the trip.

Arsenal are top of Group F, having amassed nine points from three games.

Their last match in the competition saw them scrape past Vitoria 3-2 at home, with two brilliant free-kicks from Nicolas Pepe giving them the three points.