Who Should Be Arsenal’s Next Captain?
Looking at the season he’s had and considering the competition in Arsenal’s midfield, the Arsenal skipper Mikel Arteta looks likely to leave the club at the end of the season, despite signing a new contract not so long ago. Now even if Arsene Wenger decides to retain his services for another campaign, the Spaniard will mostly be a fringe player at the club, considering the emergence of Francis Coquelin and with another defensive midfielder likely to join the club. So who should take over the captaincy at the Emirates?
The obvious choice is the man who wears the armband at the moment, vice-captain Per Mertesacker. The German is a pretty decent skipper and is certainly experienced enough to shoulder the responsibilities that the armband brings. However, a slight complication in this case is that BFG might not be first-choice in central defence for very long. It seems as though Gabriel impresses more and more with every game he plays and in my opinion, he will take over by next season. The Brazilian’s flawless performance against West Brom is a great illustration of his potential.
While I do realise that it’s not mandatory for a captain to be consistently on the pitch, my preference would be for that to be the case, which is why my choice for captaincy would be Aaron Ramsey. Having already captained the Wales national team, the midfielder will be well aware of the responsibilities and he will represent a long-term solution for captaincy. At 24 years of age, he is at the prime of his career and I’m sure that giving him the armband will motivate him to pick up his game even more.
The Welshman, in my opinion, will set an ideal example for the rest of the squad, in terms of ability, work-rate and discipline. For me, it is a no-brainer, Aaron Ramsey should be the next Arsenal captain. While there are also other potential candidates like Laurent Koscielny and Jack Wishere, I believe Rambo would be a better choice. In fact, I can go as far as to say that I can see him being the Arsenal skipper for many, many years to come.
Anurag
Laurent Koscielny.
Honorable mentions go to Ramsey & Alexis. Jack will get some hype but he’s way off the armband and needs to focus on getting in the first 11 and cementing that spot, then he’s a strong candidate.
I’m with ChaCha on this one: Koscielny!!!
I would wait and see who we bring in this summer, We need a leader someone who will take control and pick the team & players up when we need it, It is not about just giving a player the armband, we have been lacking a good leader for many years now, Tony Adams type payer we need some that plays with pride and passion !!!
You don’t buy a player and hand him the captains armband, what kind of tactic is that?
It would be a captaincy based solely on the “follow my example” principle. I’ve never seen the guy open his mouth let alone get animated or fired-up. Mertesacker is the organiser but no-one rates him. Very good player as Kos is he ticks very few of the “required for effective leadership” boxes. Over time I think your second choices would make better candidates. Alexis would certainly be an interesting choice – I wonder how his English lessons are coming along as I think being able to shout the language would be an essential pre-requisite.
Have you played football in a team? Laurent Koscielny is a calm guy, he does his job very well individually but he is not suitable for CAP. On the other hand Per is perfect man for this job. He is very vocal and he’s always the most responsible person in our team, he fight for the badge on his chest. Remember when Per screamed at Ozil face at the end of one defeat match when Ozil didn’t applause our fans? That’s what a captain does, not only on the field but outside too.
Played at a higher level than you I’d wager, but do tell me the merits of giving the captains armband to a guy who’s due to be replaced in the lineup by a superior player. Do most club captains sit on the bench?
Koscielny all day long for me….
Ramsey is the
logical choice.
Give the armband to Giroud he carries our title hopes
Good one there. Lol
Ramsey makes sense to me, but simply because of our “captain’s curse” would have wanted the Boss but can’t stomach losing him to transfer or form
Wenger gives the armband to calzora in absence of,arteta so calzora will lift the FA trophy on saturday
Koscielny should have it…but ofcos Wenger will promote BFG.
I can see us recording the biggest win in fa cup final,Villa is in shambles
A captain should have big balls and lead by example, Coquelin is the man.
Before anyone mentions age, look back at Tony Adams, he did an OK job there from 21 🙂
I like that: BIG BALLS!!!
Give it up for our very own FURIOUS COCK!!
BFG he will be next to go….its a jinxed role
Koscienlny won’t make a good captain. He is one of our most consistent players I know, but he isn’t that influential. He is a WC player who just goes about his duty and do them right but he doesn’t do so much talking like, calling team mates to order, commenting on games and players etc. I think he is a bit withdrawn. Ramsey is d ideal guy for the job after MA8 and Per though.
Not sure about the role of captain at Arsenal off the pitch – I read somewhere that the BFG has some sort of job as an enforcer for discipline. However on the pitch we need someone who sets an example in terms of effort and focus and who can make a difference when things are going against us on the pitch. Easy to be a captain when you’re winning not so easy when you are losing. I would prefer whoever it is to be regular starter if they have the above qualities.
That is if Rambo doesn’t fly off to Real Madrid- The Vultures! I would either give it to Koscienly or Wilshere. The Welsh Captaincy affected Rambo’s game so much that when it was taken off him, he seemed to blossom again. Could the same happen to him at Arsenal? Some guys are not Captain material and therefore caution and a lot of thought and wisdom must be excercised in naming our next Captain! Remember Gallas over Gilberto Silva? Say no more!!!
Yeah id say Rambo looks maybe best of bunch, Cazorla could be a curious choice with everyone liking him so much and him being able to raise peoples spirits. If being honest i must admit we dont have a true captain at Arsenal, someone who was born to lead. So i think we should go out and find our next captain.
Schneiderlin/Vidal… next Arsenal Captain ?
Yes we do… He’s just been injured for a long time
I think it’ll be Per personally… Say what you will, and I agree Kos is a superior defender. But it needs to be someone experienced, vocal, not afraid to tell others to lift their game and able to organize. Our most talented players don’t fit this mould unfortunately. You can influence the game heavily with your performance but leadership is more than that.
It’ll be Jack or Le Coq in the next 2-3 seasons… Leadership qualities in abundance.
I agree Ramsey needs to be the New Team-Captain, but has he the influence to galvanise the players. The last great Captain we had was Vieira and before that Adams. All the Captains after this have been given the armband to give them incentive to sign a new deal, but none were seen to be vocal on the pitch or being able to get an extra mile out of the team in hard games.
Mertesacker has been seen to be verbal but like you say we need a Captain who is likely to be on the pitch doing his job.
I disagree Wilshere is miles from the armband. My preference is still Ramsey because of porior Captain experience and he leads by example, but Wilshere has the attitude to confront lazy players and is pretty much a Tony Adams clone, players know Wilshere is not afraid of them and know he will be having a word in the dressing room. I don’t see anybody else in the team even close to this other than Kieran Gibbs (don’t underestimate this guy, he is not to be messed with). My problem with Wilshere is his absences and the number of games he doesn’t bother to put a shift in. The 19 year old Wilshere was an automatic choice, the Wilshere who single handedly tore apart the Barcelona midfield and vocally criticised Arsenal players, but he has been missing since he returned after the injury spell which followed that.
maybe rambo but personally i prefer jack wilshere…we choose a long term captain
Ozil should be made captain might encourage him to take his game up to the level we know he capable of!
We need a new Arsenal captain altogether. This season we made some very basic mistakes which kept us out of title race. Not just Wenger who made them but lack of authority was too a cause. Wenger needs someone on the field to do and say what is needed, to kick people up the bum and drive home reminder of precious points at stake. Someone who will say hear we are three up so stop trying to get on the scoresheet and get back to central midfield. Or shout to the back four to move tighter not leaving huge gaps.
Someone who knows the importance of keeping a certain team shape – how can a current Arsenal player focus on Arsenals shape when they themselves roam freely and are concerned more so with their own stats.
When you watch closely at a leaders game you see how they are very concerned with other peoples games.. like a maestro conducting at times. Moving forwards and back in tandem. We do not have a player with high levels of leadership qualities.
It’s about time we had a captain that actually gets playing time on the pitch!!
Le Coq with ramsey as Vice Captain or the other way round
Arteta still will be our captain and Per as vice captain. Then there are Ramsey, Rosicky, Cazrola who can step up to be captain when needed.
I think id go for le coq, no nonscence, consistent performer and not afraid to scream at our “star players”
Would love Jack to get it as he is Arsenal through and through, but he just isnt ready.