Arsenal players to strive for 'unity' as Granit Xhaka may be stripped of captaincy

Several Arsenal players have made an attempt to act in unity with club captain Granit Xhaka, with there being calls from fans to strip the Swiss midfielder of his captaincy, after his public dispute against the home fans.

As Xhaka was being substituted during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday, he was booed off of the pitch, prompting him to wave his arms in the air, tell the fans to "f*** off", refuse to shake manager Unai Emery's hand, whilst also taking off his shirt in front off everyone, before storming to the tunnel.

The decision to appoint Xhaka as captain of the club has left the Gunners' fanbase divided, prompting plenty of criticism.

After the game, Emery said he will speak to Xhaka, saying that his actions were "wrong", as he will have the tough decision of whether he will take the Swiss international's captaincy away from him or not.

Arsenal's third captain, Hector Bellerin, who is behind Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in line after captaincy, did not play as he is still regaining full fitness after a long-term knee injury.

However, the Spaniard took to Twitter, writing "We are all humans, we all have emotions, and sometimes it's not easy dealing with them. It's time to lift each other up, not to push each other away. We only win when we are together".

According to reports, three Arsenal players visited Xhaka at his home on Sunday.

Arsenal as a club in general seems to be in disarray, with Alexandre Lacazette liking a post on Instagram that was in favour of sacking Unai Emery and removing Xhaka's captaincy, and with the club photographer posting photos of Lucas Torreira seemingly in tears after Xhaka's substitution.