Arsenal manager Unai Emery has two absentees for the Europa League group stage clash in Guimaraes today against Vitoria. One is the injured Reiss Nelson, the other is Granit Xhaka, who was stripped of his captaincy. This was kind of expected, given his fallout with Arsenal fans, but now the midfielder finds himself with essentially no future with the club at all.
According to multiple reports, Xhaka will be made available in the January transfer window. This report from The Times has more on the situation. All we can says is “cue Ron Burgundy ‘boy that escalated quickly’ meme.
Arsenal Team News, Starting XI Prediction for UEL Clash today: go to this link
Xhaka’s being awarded the captaincy was widely criticized at the time.
That criticism foreshadowed his failure in this prominent leadership role, and despite his public apology for getting into it with hostile supporters, he was stripped of the captain’s armband, and the honor was given to Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.
It’s safe to say that the Switzerland national team captain will likely never feature for Arsenal again.
And with his being put on the transfer market, he’ll be made available for a bargain basement fee, as the north London side will be desperate to sell in January.
Arsenal FC at Vitoria SC (UEFA Europa League Group stage) FYIs
Kickoff: 3:50 BST, Nov 6, The Estádio D. Afonso Henriques
TV: Arsenal WWW Vitoria LLL
Group L Standings: Arsenal first with 9 points, Vitoria last with 0 points
Prediction: Arsenal 1, Vitoria 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.