Arsenal may look to sell Granit Xhaka in January, according to reports, after the midfielder was stripped of the club captaincy this week.

The Mirror report that Arsenal ‘could look to offload Granit Xhaka in January’, after Unai Emery wouldn’t say whether the midfielder would play for the club again in the future. Emery simply responded: “We’re speaking a lot about that. It’s clear. There’s no more words about that.”

Xhaka clashed with supporters during Arsenal’s match against Crystal Palace in late October, encouraging their jeers and mouthing “f**k off” as he walked off the pitch before pulling his shirt off and walking down the funnel.

In his statement on the incident, Xhaka argued he’d been worked up by an extended period of abuse from so-called supporters on social media, though he did also apologise for his actions.

Despite the apology, Unai Emery decided to remove Xhaka from the captaincy group and hand the role of club captain over the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with Hector Bellerín as vice-captain and Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Özil completing the new group of four.

It’s hard to imagine a smooth transition from club captain back to being a normal member of the playing squad, but that’s the challenge that faces Xhaka now if he doesn’t want to leave. Otherwise, the January window could well spell the end for his Arsenal career.