Former Arsenal skipper Granit Xhaka will reportedly leave the club at the end of the season with European media outlets touting a move to  Xabi Alonso’s Bundeliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Xhaka has had an impressive season for the Gunners, scoring 14 goals in his 44 appearances to date, but he is about to enter the final year of his contract and reports from Arsenal suggest that boss Mikel Arteta will look to off-load him in order to find a place for West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice who is reportedly his number one off-season target.

If Rice were to make the move across London it would leave Xhaka further down the midfield pecking order which also features players like Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey.

Commenting on the situation Arteta told Sky Sports: “They are always tough decision, whether it’s to recruit, or other decisions

“Some players sometimes don’t want to continue with us, some staff members.

“It’s always tough, especially when you have good relationships with those individuals, but we are here to win. That’s the purpose of everybody at the club.

“We have to win and to win we have to do it in our way and to do that we have to make decisions.”