Unai Emery drops Arsenal captaincy hint after draw against Wolves
Arsenal fans who wanted Arsenal to change their captaincy may have gotten their wish as Unai Emery drops a hint that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang may wear the armband more frequently.
In the wake of Granit Xhaka’s fallout with Arsenal fans, Emery decided to drop the Swiss midfielder from the squad for their game against Wolves and handed the armband to Aubameyang. The Gabonese attacker responded by scoring his 50th goal for the club.
“Today he took that responsibility and he could do in the future.” Emery said about the Gabonese attacker,”
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That is probably as close as you will get to Emery revealing his thinking on the captaincy subject. He obviously did not feel confident to name Xhaka originally and left that up to the players. He just does not seem to have a decisive position on the captaincy.
I have no idea if Aubameyang would make a decent long term captain, however, Xhaka was previously captain of Borussia Munchengladbach and is currently the captain of Switzerland.
What does that tell us? It tells us that Xhaka is an experienced captain. He certainly has the confidence of his teammates, so why the problem?
Well, it seems that form, talent and competence are a significant element of being a captain for the fans. Xhaka is lacking those right now, whereas Aubameyang is not.
That is the conundrum for Emery, does he stick with his experienced captain or take a chance with the clubs most in-form player?
For the fans, it is obvious, not sure Emery is convinced but he may be coming around to the idea.