In the event that Laurent Koscielny departs Arsenal this summer, or even if he does not, who should step into the void and become the next Arsenal captain?
Talksport has run an article asking that same question by nominating six candidates, they are Granit Xhaka, Sokratis, Alexandre Lacazette, Nacho Monreal, Bernd Leno and Hector Bellerin.
Now, I am surprised that Mesut Ozil is not included in that list and know his inclusion in any shortlist would be controversial but I will come back to him shortly.
As for the six candidates I personally would eliminate three straight off the bat, the defenders, at no stage last season did I see anything from any of them that resembled leadership.
None of them stepped up to the plate when it was going so wrong and I see no reason why it would be any different next season.
That said, it is unfair to include Bellerin in that because he was out injured but he has never struck me as captain material anyway. That is just a personal feeling, he simply does not look or act like a leader.
Granit Xhaka, what can I say, I am not even sure he will still be at the club after the transfer window but let’s assume that he is, what did he do in midfield when the chips were down last season because I never saw anything, never saw him rallying the team, never saw him screaming instructions, he seems to be too, what’s the word? nice.
That leaves Leno and Lacazette, now I know that Lacazette will have his supporters but in my opinion, that would be more about his performances and passion than actual leadership qualities, put it this way, if he was not as effective in front of the goal would he even be considered for the role, I am not so sure.
I would not rule Lacazette out but of the six I do feel that Leno is the best suited.
Some of the great teams in history have been lead by keepers and in fact, last years world cup winners France was lead by a keeper, we do not need to name him.
Goalies by their nature need to be vocal and he is positioned perfectly to get the message to the weakest point in the team, the defence.
So, from those six I would say Leno with maybe Xhaka just behind if he does stay at the club but he would need to toughen up, maybe the captain’s role would give him that confidence.
That now leaves Ozil as I mentioned earlier, so listen me out on this one before you ask am I mad.
Most on this website will know I am not a fan of the German and want him gone, I believe he is an utter waste of space but and it is a big but, give him the captaincy role and we may just get a different attitude from him.
We know he has the talent but it is his attitude and inconsistency that lets him down, he may just be a different player with his chest puffed out if he is given a vote of confidence and more responsibility.
If we cannot offload him what are we going to with him? we can isolate him, leave him on the bench, demote him to the reserves and so on but what would that really achieve?
Bringing him to the fold and making hi part of the decision making may have an effect on him that has been missing from his game.
I am not saying we should give him the captains armband but I do think it is worth consideration.
All said and done though, Leno would be my choice.
Lacazette
If Koscielny and Monreal leave, only Xhaka and Ozil can replace them. Because they have been playing for three seasons and they are at the right age
Bellerin is at the club longer than both candidates, but he is younger and he seems to be more interested in walking at Louis Vutton’s Paris show
Nonetheless, I hope Arsenal can sell Xhaka and Ozil before the next season starts. Because they have shown their maximum abilities in the last three seasons, they cannot offer something new and they are not game changers in big games
Ozil
Did you see the outfit he had on? ?
Which outfit Sue?
When I typed “Ozil” on Google, the search engine presented a photo that shows he is sleeping on the bench ?
Haha very funny!! The outfit Bellerin was modelling – bet you’d love it ??
Hang on a minute-on a previous thread you said Xhaka had as much ability as Frank Lampard.Now your saying he should be sold because we’ve seen the best of him.FFS you need to seriously make your mind up PAL.What are you?4 years old?Just have to see your name up in lights for the sake of it don’t you?You are an embarrassment PAL.
That was for GOT NO IDEA
I said Xhaka has the potential to be as good as Lampard, if he doesn’t waste his shooting chances and increase his mobility
Having said that, he had enough chances already and should be sold if there is a 40 M offer
Three seasons are sufficient to assess a player and that applies to Ozil as well. Is that clear, Phol?
If he had the potential to be as good as Frank Lampard we would have seen it by now don’t you think?Yet what have we seen in three seasons?No pace.Rarely responsible for creating anything.Hardly ever scores.Continually gives the ball away in crucial areas.Forever giving away goals through rash decisions.Dosent sound like a Frank Lampard to me PAL.Nor anyone else agreeing with you I notice.Ridiculous comment
Pal, Lamps was the only Chelsea player I liked in the entire generation (apart form Zola), it is an insult to Lamps for Xhaka (of all) to be compared with him.Lamps was a true sportsman, athletic, good decision making/cool head, agile and a complete player,the exact attributes lacking in Xhaka. And after three seasons, he will never be what he ever wanted to be on the pitch (if ever he thought about it!)Post Highbury, Wenger mostly signed players (a few exceptions like Carzola)not suited to EPL/AFC or players not exactly required at that point of time. But of all Sylvestre, Andre Santos, Xhaka, Mustafi, Sanogo and Asano are the most horrible of the lot
Iwobi would likely win my vote
????
He would likely win my vote aswell
My vote my being the worst player I’ve seen at the club in 30 years
I’ll go with Laca… sod Xhaka – he’s got to go!
Ozil was captain at times last season…and flopped! You cannot have someone as captain that acts like a petulant, spoilt brat anyway!
Depending on who we sign, there’s only two candidates at the moment: Sokratis, and Lacazette.
I always prefer seeing a CB as captain, especially over a striker, but Lacazette just shades it for me. His work rate is second to none, he leads by example, he is one of our best players, and he would certainly be a popular choice amongst the fans.
Arsenal have had pathetic captains for as long as I can remember, so I hope they can FINALLY get it right!
Totally agree, im not usually keen i having a striker as a captain but Lacazette would get my vote in this team. He is the player that shows most desire and puts in a shift every single game. Its about time we sorted our captain situation anyway its been a joke since the Gallas days
Yes a joke, including that fake so called captain GALLAS. WE HAVE HAD no captains since Adams. They are as rare as hens teeth in this snowflake generation and likely to get even worse. MANY PLAYERS JUST REFUSE TO WORK HARD OR BE LED. SOFTIES ARE EVERYWHERE! IT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE GREEDY, MATERIALISTIC, STAY INDOORS GENERATION WE HAVE TODAY WHICH SOFTENS YOUNG PEOPLE.
Jon, surely you haven’t forgotten the one and only Patrick Vieria have you?
I would rate him (as a captain) as highly as ANY captain we have had, including Mr Arsenal himself.
I personally would go along with what UE said, there should be no need for one captain, as every player should be the captain, although one person has to decide heads or tails of course.
I just wonder how we did what we did last season and how, if aba’s penalty against the spuds had gone in, we would have finished third and playing CL football with no proper captain?
Fully agree about Viera Ken. He was a driving force and led by example and in today’s transfer market would probably be valued at over £150m.
Not a single player in our current squad would qualify as a credible captain.
Maybe one day Patrick will come back as our manager?
Lacazette
Captains? They hardly exist in this snowflake age. Hardly at any clubs with one or two exceptions. None whatever at Arsenal since Adams left. I never thought Viera was a captain at all and he wasn’t, even though he wore the armband. Most young fans have no idea at all what a good captain even is.
Everyone keeps talking up Reiss nelson but no one as once again mentioned the fact that he cant get into the England’s u21 first eleven.
Same thing happened with him while he was on loan, he got drop despite scoring a couple at beginning of the season
Who gives a damn about england under 21 , im sure Nelson is gonna be awesome next season.
Well we’ve given Ozil a crazy £350,000 per week. Might as well give him the Captaincy if we aren’t selling him
ForeverGooner, why not pretend he is responsible for everything and then he can be crucified for the next three years as the one and only reason The Arsenal can’t compete with clubs who have unlimited resources.
It’s happened before and it gives some fans an outlet for their frustrations.
Irrelevant article, we dont know if any of these players still be there beside Leno. You do it often lately, website looks better, but irrelevant if content is. Rather not see as many articles, misses off.