Home » News » Arsenal strip Granit Xhaka of club captaincy/appoint Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 27: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal leaves the pitch after being substituted off during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on October 27, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)

Arsenal strip Granit Xhaka of club captaincy/appoint Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

By Conor Laird Last Updated: November 5, 2019 8:48 pm

Confirmation has this evening arrived that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has replaced Granit Xhaka as Arsenal’s captain.

Palace fight back for a point

The Gunners welcomed Crystal Palace to the Emirates two weekends ago, for a Premier League clash.

Hosts Arsenal headed into proceedings in search of an immediate bounce-back result, after being put to the sword by Sheffield United in disappointing fashion in their previous outing.

When the 90 minutes were said and done in north London, however, the capital giants’ woes only heightened.

After taking a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes versus Palace, the Gunners were eventually pegged for a 2-2 draw.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz had set up what looked set to be a comfortable evening’s work for Arsenal, but goals from Luka Milivojević and Jordan Ayew either side of the interval (followed by the questionable intervention of VAR) eventually saw Unai Emery’s men forced to settle for a point.

Highlights: Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace

Xhaka controversy

Arsenal’s capitulation, however, actually didn’t prove the main talking point stemming from the matchup at the Emirates.

This surrounded the actions of Gunners captain Granit Xhaka.

With the scoreline at 2-2, and an hour on the clock, Unai Emery opted to replace his side’s skipper with Bukayo Saka, in search of a greater attacking presence.

Xhaka’s number flashing across the 4th official’s board was quickly met by a chorus of sarcastic cheers, followed by heavy booing, on the part of the home crowd.

And the Swiss midfielder, clearly aggravated by both the scoreline and Arsenal’s supporters, subsequently allowed his emotions to get the better of him:

This feels like a landmark moment for Xhaka and #afc fans. His substitution is greeted by cheers, he’s then booed as he walks off (instead of running with the score at 2-2). He then cups his ear to the crowd, shouts “f*** off”, takes his shirt off and walks down the tunnel.
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) October 27, 2019

Auba replaces Xhaka

As such, Xhaka has since inevitably been the subject of heavy criticism on the part of the Arsenal faithful, amid mounting calls for the 27-year-old to be definitively dropped, and stripped of the club’s captaincy.

And, after Unai Emery opted to follow through with the former of these demands in his side’s last two outings versus Liverpool and Wolves, the Spanish tactician has today gone a step further.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of Arsenal’s Europa League meeting with Vitoria SC tomorrow afternoon, the Spanish tactician confirmed that he has stripped Xhaka of the club’s captaincy:

Emery has stripped Xhaka of the captaincy
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) November 5, 2019

Emery told me Xhaka “accepted” the decision.
Bellerin says the squad “respect the decision of the coach and the club. For us it’s to give him our love and care.” https://t.co/clBV4cRsPh
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) November 5, 2019

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, meanwhile, has been chosen as Xhaka’s replacement: