Arsenal's captain's armband has faced accusations of being "cursed" in recent years such is the level of drama that seems to follow whichever player is burdened with it.
It should be an honour to be named the skipper of a club with the kind of prestige that Arsenal boasts, but instead, the last few players to be given the title have caused more harm than good.
That wasn't always the case though, in fact, the merry-go-round of skippers only started relatively recently as the club have plummeted to the desperate lows of eighth place in the last two seasons.
Arsene Wenger is widely regarded as the best manager in Arsenal's history, with his reign starting in October of 1996.
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From the day the Frenchman was appointed, the Gunners had just two captains for the first nine years of Wenger's tenure up until the opening day of the 2005/06 Premier League season.
Mirror Football has analysed each player that was given the armband by Wenger and also taken a look at the former Gunners boss' advice for current manager Mikel Arteta on who to appoint as skipper next.
Tony Adams
Mr Arsenal himself; few players in Arsenal's illustrious 136-year history have captured the hearts of the Gunners fanbase quite like Adams.
A tough-tackling, no-nonsense central defender that would sooner be stretchered off with injury than not leave absolutely everything he had out there on the pitch, Adams won plenty as captain.
"And it's Tony Adams, put through by Steve Bould... would you believe it! That sums it all up…" the iconic commentary of Martin Tyler the perfect accompaniment for the visual image of Arsenal's number six standing proudly in front of the Highbury faithful, arms aloft - the left one donning the captain's armband.
A rare one-club man, Adams' honours list boasts four league titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and a European Cup Winners Cup to boot.
An English football hall of fame inductee, Adams was wearing the armband for the most famous night in the club's history when Arsenal won the 1989 league title with the last kick of the campaign away at Liverpool.
A true leader of men, Adams is still regarded by most as the greatest captain in Arsenal's history long after hanging up his boots in 2002.
Patrick Vieira
A fitting talent to take over the armband from Adams, Vieira was similar to his predecessor in the sense he also gave everything for the badge.
The Frenchman's temper would get him into trouble at times, but he more than made up for it with his technical prowess.
Viewed by some as the most gifted midfielder ever witnessed on these shores, the former AC Milan star arrived from Serie A and immediately dazzled the Highbury faithful.
Taking on the role of skipper from 2002 onwards, Vieira captained the most famous Arsenal side during the 2003/04 'invincible' campaign.
The Gunners went the entirety of the league season undefeated with Vieira as captain.
"I loved him. I loved it," Vieira said when recalling his time under Wenger as captain.
"When the manager is defending you, you would die for him."
An attitude that was perhaps lost on some of the captains that would follow.
Thierry Henry
Arsenal's greatest ever player inherited the armband from his fellow countryman but failed to inspire similar success.
The Gunners reached the 2006 Champions League final with Henry as skipper, but fell short against Barcelona during a heart-breaking, rain-sodden final in Paris.
The former forward was arguably unlucky in terms of timing as he was handed the captaincy during a transition period for the club as Arsenal got used to life at the Emirates.
Henry spent just one season at the new stadium before he upped sticks to sunny Spain.
"I always said that if I ever left Arsenal it would be to play for Barcelona," he told fans, who were hardly comforted by their former captain's admission.
William Gallas
Potentially the most unpopular skipper in Arsenal's history, Gallas' time as captain was nothing short of a disaster.
Fans were already sceptical given his Chelsea past, but once he was given the armband things went even further south.
Petulance was a theme for the entirety of his reign as Gunners captain, culminating in one of the most memorable melt-downs in Premier League history.
Gallas refused to leave the pitch away at Birmingham long following the full-time whistle after a last-gasp penalty scuppered Arsenal's title hopes for the 2007/09 season.
The French centre-back had to be eventually escorted off by Wenger himself.
He was then stripped of the armband as a result of some questionable comments made to the media about Arsenal's team spririt.
Gallas' astronomical contract demands led to his eventual exit from the club, though he managed to damage his legacy even further by becoming the only ever Arsenal captain to leave for Tottenham Hotspur.
Cesc Fabregas
It is a testament to the incredible technical talent Fabregas possessed that he eventually plied his trade for Chelsea and is still so loved by the Arsenal faithful.
Given the armband at just 21 years of age, Fabregas was viewed as the poster boy for Wenger's youth revolution that just fell short of the 2007/08 league title.
"When they made me captain it was a very difficult situation because I was only 21 years old and the coach came to me the day before making the decision because something happened with the other captain that was there before," Fabregas said.
"And Arsene Wenger decided to finish with the captain and he wanted to name someone else. So the day before he came to me but I didn't expect anything at 21 years old."
Still the youngest goal-scorer in Arsenal's history, Fabregas showed maturity beyond his years and played a starring role in some of the most important wins in the Gunners' modern history.
Fabregas was the first of Arsenal's young stars to depart when he returned to boyhood club Barcelona, sparking a mass exodus at the Emirates.
Robin van Persie
Captain for just one season but what a season it was.
The Dutchman single-handedly dragged Arsenal into the top four with an individual campaign that has not been matched by anyone in a Gunners shirt since.
While donning the armband, Van Persie notched 37 goals in all competitions as Arsenal finished third in the Premier League.
The former Feyenoord star also won a host of individual accolades including the Premier League Golden Boot and a PFA Players' Player and Football Writer's Footballer of the Year double.
However, it was all destined to end in tears come the end of the 2011/12 campaign when Van Persie fled to rivals Manchester United.
"I always listen to the little boy inside of me in these situations - what does he want? That boy was screaming for Man United," he claimed, burning his bridges in north London in the process.
Thomas Vermaelen
The Belgian's spell as captain arguably sparked a run of Arsenal skippers that spent more time on the bench than out there on the pitch leading the side.
Vermaelen's days at Arsenal before he was given the armband saw him pop up with a number of vital goals and regular runs in the side, but after being handed the captaincy injuries seemed to curtail his time in north London.
The defender was dropped for a run of games during the 2012/13 season for poor performances.
Though he was still captain for the 2014 FA Cup Final, it was current boss Arteta who skippered the side on the pitch, Vermaelen an unused substitute for the dramatic victory.
Mikel Arteta
A face now synonymous with Arsenal all over the globe given his current status as manager of the club, the Spaniard was once captain of the side as well.
Not known to be a massively popular figure in the dressing room due to his disciplinarian way of running things, many of Arteta's principles as captain are similar to the ones now seen in the manager.
Arteta's first experience of captaining Arsenal came during a memorable third round FA Cup home clash with Leeds that saw Henry score on his second debut.
Similarly to Vermaelen, Arteta was sidelined with injury for lengthy spells at a time while captain.
The former midfielder was crucial in the Gunners 2014 FA Cup run, which ended in glory at Wembley.
Arteta scored against Everton in the quarter-final as well as slotting home his penalty in the shootout against Wigan at the last-four stage.
Per Mertesacker
Though it was clear he would miss huge parts of the 2016/2017 campaign with a knee injury, Wenger still opted to name Mertesacker captain in the wake of Arteta's retirement.
"Wenger knew how long I was out, but he told me that he still saw me as a big figure for the club and that I was his first choice. I couldn't believe it," the Germany international told the Telegraph.
"I was really buzzing as it came at the time I didn't think it was going to happen. You want to be on the pitch, giving advice, making the difference, but sometimes that is not the role and you have to let it go."
Mertesacker made just one start that season but delivered one of the most memorable performances as he kept Chelsea at bay to secure the 2017 FA Cup.
Mertesacker has since gone on to become the club's head of academy operations following his retirement in 2018 - the same summer Wenger also left Arsenal.
Wenger's advice
Shortly after his departure from the club, Wenger offered up a bit of advice surrounding the Arsenal captaincy.
In the wake of Granit Xhaka being stripped of the armband for hurling obscenities at his own fans, then-manager Unai Emery opted to have a 'captaincy group'.
The idea sparked ridicule, but Wenger confessed he wasn't entirely against the proposal.
"If you have three or four [captains], it's better than just one," he told talkSPORT.
"One is not always there. What has changed a little bit in the game now is that every player in the big clubs is basically a club within the club.
"They have their own advisers, their own video specials, their own fitness advisers and their own physios. So it's more complicated these days."
Reflecting on what makes the perfect skipper, Wenger revealed: "Ideally, it's a guy who is the voice of the manager, in the dressing room, he should be respected by others.
"He should maintain a good level of focus in the dressing room because it's always ups and downs in terms of concentration and spirit.
"It should be a guy who can remind people what they are there for and what the target is. And he should be listened to by people."
Arteta - take note.
