Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hinted that Granit Xhaka could yet wear the captain's armband again for the Gunners despite being stripped of the honour by Unai Emery earlier this season.
Xhaka's time in north London looked to be coming to an end after he swore at supporters when he was substituted in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in October.
As a result of Xhaka's actions his manager at the time Emery took the captaincy off him, and also hinted that the player could be in need of a fresh start away from Arsenal .
Arteta is a fan of Xhaka, however, and is known to have blocked a proposed move for the player to Hertha Berlin this month .
Speaking to Football London , Arteta even suggested the player could yet captain the club again, something which would have seemed almost impossible a short time ago.
When asked about the possibility of such a thing happening, Arteta replied: "I don't know, time will tell that. Now he's happy to stay here, he's completely committed and that's a big plus today."
Xhaka has played a full 90 minutes in two of the three games Arteta has taken charge of so far, but he could be rested on Monday evening as the Gunners take on Leeds in the FA Cup.
When asked about whether he would be taking the competition seriously Arteta replied: "Absolutely. I would like to have more fit players so I can rotate more, but we will see what we have.
"But obviously it is a competition that is very attached to this football club in recent years and we have to take it very seriously and we have to try to go to the next round."
