Granit Xhaka's decision to snub the captain's armband against Brentford will only add more fuel to the fire over his uncertain Arsenal future.
The Swiss midfielder refused to wear the armband after Alexandre Lacazette was taken off in the second half as the Gunners secured a 2-1 win over the Bees.
Eddie Nketiah tried to hand Xhaka the armband as he replaced the Frenchman with five minutes to go, but the midfielder point-blank rejected it.
The forward, who has been on the fringes of Arteta's side and is set to leave as a free agent in the summer, wasn't sure how to respond and ended up wearing the armband for a brief moment before passing it onto Kieran Tierney.
Xhaka has been linked with a move to Roma in the upcoming window with reports he has already made contact with Jose Mourinho.
Should Arsenal sell Granit Xhaka in the summer? Comment below
The former Chelsea boss was keen to sign the Arsenal man last summer but a move did not materialise, before Xhaka would sign a contract extension putting any speculation to bed.
But those rumours have resurfaced again and his refusal to take the armband against the Bees won't quieten them.
Xhaka was named as the club’s permanent captain under former manager Unai Emery in September 2019.
He became the skipper after winning a player vote amongst his teammates at the beginning of Emery’s second season.
Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy barely two months later after gesturing at Arsenal fans who were heckling him while he was being substituted.
But despite his previous history, Arteta had included the Switzerland star amongst a “leadership group” of Arsenal players.
"In the last game we had (Alexandre Lacazette) and we have Xhaka too,” Arteta said when asked about the players who could wear the armband this season.
“It’s not the moment to make a rash decision. That leadership group is really strong … We are going to continue like that.”
Arteta is running a tight ship at the Emirates following the fallout with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Spaniard stripped the Gabon international of the captaincy for a disciplinary issue, banished him from the first team before forcing him out of the club as he joined Barcelona in January.
Arteta made it clear no player was bigger than the club and there is a good chance Xhaka's actions have overstepped the mark as he failed to put the team first by not putting on the armband.
The Arsenal boss is making a concerted effort to instil good behaviours and habits at the club, which means it's fairly obvious when an individual isn't following those guidelines.
He said: "So when you see certain behaviours daily, they become habits and those habits are easy to follow and once they’re integrated, I don’t think anybody can escape from that and try to do something different, because it gets exposed."
Xhaka certainly exposed himself against Brentford, but the thing is it's not the first time he has let his side down. The question is 'will it be the last?'
