Arsenal are set to announce a new captain for the coming season, following Mikel Arteta’s departure from the club this summer, and I fear the role is not taken seriously enough at the club.
When you look at Chelsea, and see their captain John Terry has been in the role since 2004, there is no question of his leadership, and he shows that regularly on the pitch, as he did for England previously also. Man City have Belgium international captain Vincent Kompany doing his bit also, and has had the armband at his club since 2011, while Man United have current England captain Wayne Rooney in the role, where he is regularly seen playing with his heart on his sleeve.
Then at Arsenal, we have seen a number of people gifted the armband, only to see them leave the club shortly afterwards. There is no consistency in the role, and it is hard to see who exactly is being the leader on the pitch.
This season we had Arteta as our club captain, who did not start a single Premier League match, and was not expected to be a regular in the first-team either. What is the point?
Before him we had Thomas Vermaelen for two seasons, who left to join Barcelona respectively, but when you look back to the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, it really highlights what we are lacking in.
Reports are now claiming that Per Mertesacker is set to be given the captaincy for the coming season, who is into the last year of his playing contract, and was in-and-out of the starting line-up in the previous campaign.
Do we really want a non-playing captain? Surely we need consistency on the pitch, and a leader to fire our players up in the right moments.
Granit Xhaka has just arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach, where he was captain, and could be a long-term prospect for the role. He described himself as a leader in his first ever interview with Arsenal, and despite only arriving this summer, would have shown long-term goals for leadership within the club.
Who would you have chosen to captain the side this season? Am I wrong to want a long-term leader pushing our side forwards?
First of all wenger should prepare a list of our most important and vital players, like kos, ozil, sanchez, bellerin etc. Secondly wenger should add players to the list who are generally not injury prone, like giroud.
All of the players on this list should then be excluded from being captain. The reason is that all our recent captains have either left when we wanted them to stay or become long term injured and eventually leave,
Leadership at Arsenal…….On and Off the pitch…….Top to Bottom………… Less than Zero
Not an easy choice, but my first instinct is for Ramsey or Xhaka. Per seems to be the leader of the team. On and off the field. Even while Arteta was captain, Per seemed to be the leader. I just think it should go to someone that is going to play more regularly. When Cech came in, the thing I was most struck by was how much better the communication was among the back line. He is a leader. Cazorla has often been captain on the field lately with neither Per or Arteta making the lineup. Walcott has been with the team the longest, loves the team, and has shown, at least to me, in interviews that he is quite intelligent and thoughtful.
But who knows how much longer Per, Cech, Cazorla, and Walcott will be with the team. Kos and Ozil are not vocal on the field, though I would probably call them “quiet leaders” rather than say they have no leadership qualities. Both would be near the top of my list for vice captain, but I would prefer a more vocal leader on the field. Jack is all-around a poor choice, and I don’t really know about Alexis, Coquelin, Monreal, and Giroud’s leadership skills.
Ramsey is a consistent starter that was named captain of his international team at a very young age (I know stuff happened and he was stripped, but everyone could see his leadership qualities early on). Even in our stacked midfield, Arsene has little choice but to find a spot for him on the field, and he responds by working as hard as he can to play well.
I can see why Xhaka would maybe not be in contention having just arrived, but I think Ramsey is probably the best choice overall.
Koss The Boss hands down.
i remember a game Arsenal vs Swansea, players sat down to show how they were disappointed after the game only one player picked our young players to their feets. and after the charity shield you could tell how well he knew that this was our year and that player every one is PETER CECH should be captain every one would understand.
I agree, Cech seems the obvious choice, at least in the short term.
I’m always a little suspicious when a player heralds himself. It’s when like someone who is scared begins talking himself up as a bit of a fighter and you can see that he is just scared. Friends family and strangers, the word usually gets around. Lets hope Xhaka is a leader, because if not, we don’t have a leader on the pitch. We have not had one for more than ten years now.
Jack as he is an Arsenal boy supporter. I no he had his problems but just have tbis feeling he’s going to kick on now