Xhaka facing January sale as Emery snubs his hopes of Arsenal recall

Arsenal could look to offload Granit Xhaka in January after manager Unai Emery refused to say if he will ever play for the club again.

Xhaka has been stripped of the captaincy by Emery and replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after his outburst at fans following his substitution against Crystal Palace .

The Swiss international has not featured since that incident on October 27 and has not travelled to Portugal for their clash with Vitoria in the Europa League on Wednesday.

It is understood Xhaka had hoped for a recall but Emery has snubbed the midfielder and opted to draw a line under the issue.

His response has led to serious questions over his future at the club - fuelled further when Emery refused to confirm if he will play for the club again as they consider offloading him in January.

Asked if Xhaka will play for Arsenal again, Emery said: "The future is Arsenal’s future. We have a very important match on Saturday.

“We need to take some decisions... My focus is for tomorrow.

“He is our player, we want to respect him."

Pressed further on whether the decision is permanent, he was tight-lipped on Xhaka's future at the club, stating: "We’re speaking a lot about that. It’s clear. There’s no more words about that.

“I told him and told the other captains. Then the time is giving us the next weeks and months, how we can continue with every player.”

Aubameyang, already part of the leadership group established by a dressing room vote which initially handed Xhaka the armband, has taken over the captaincy.

But the Gabonese striker is not part of the squad in Guimaraes, with Hector Bellerin expected to lead the side in his absence.