Over the past few years it has seemed as though there has been something of a curse on the Arsenal captaincy. The chaos largely began when Laurent Koscielny caught the club off guard by demanding to leave in the summer of 2019, meaning that a new dressing room leader had to be appointed.
After a lengthy delay Unai Emery reluctantly opted for Granit Xhaka but with something of a twist. The Swiss midfielder was to be part of a group of five captains at Arsenal including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Hector Bellerin. To make matters even more unusual the decision had been made via a dressing room vote.
Of the five Xhaka is the only one who still remains at the club with any likelihood of featuring regularly, and after his infamous incident with supporters in a home game against Crystal Palace appointing him skipper again is now impossible. Mikel Arteta admits this has left him in a difficult position when it comes to appointing the next leader of his dressing room.
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"It’s been a topic that has been discussed a lot, especially externally, and that didn’t help," the Spaniard said ahead of his side's training session in Orlando. "Obviously it’s not been very consistent and with a lot of behavioural problems within those groups. That is something we want to resolve, do it naturally and bring a really strong leadership within the team."
Resolving that is something Arteta clearly holds has a high priority. Correcting the culture of the dressing has been something he has set his sights on since arriving at the club, and now that the time has come to pick a new leader following the departures of Aubameyang and Lacazette last season, it's a decision that is of the utmost importance.
The main candidate for the role would appear to be Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian is a captain at international level and is someone who Arteta was keen to praise for his professionalism during tricky periods last season.
"He thinks about the team before himself," the Spaniard said when asked about the leadership quotes Odegaard possesses. "He had a period at the start where he wasn't playing, he was the first in training, the last to leave, asking the right questions - why he wasn't playing, what he had to do - he was always listening, he was always helping his teammates. His attitude was absolutely phenomenal. That made think that this guy is putting the team in front of himself and the captain has to do that always."
Kieran Tierney is another contender, while Rob Holding wore the armband on occasion and Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel are all viewed as leaders in the dressing room. Arteta though does not want to limit himself and the typical definition of a captain as a focal point in the dressing room. While he admits their will be one sole skipper, other players will be in positions of leadership too.
"It will be a captain and a group," he said before going on to add: "I don’t believe in one figurehead. I believe more in a leadership group but in the end someone has to stand and represent the group. Within the club, outside the club, someone has to lead or direct others and that figure, in my opinion, is really important."
Arsenal are a club associated with the traditional all-action type of captain, having experienced the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira's interpretation of the role. However, aside from just being a chest-thumping, fist-clenching, shouting focal point on the pitch, Arteta admits he wants a player who will lead off it.
"For me the most important thing is that the other people – whether it’s coaches, staff members or players – when you talk, they listen to you," he said. "You don’t have to be talking all the time. Then you have to be really consequent with what you say and what you do. For me that’s the most important quality – you have to be able to transmit your thoughts and ideas in a powerful way. So at the end of the day you’re able to inspire people and get people behind you. If you don’t have that quality, you cannot be a captain.
"(I like) that they have some pro-active ideas, that they are accountable for what they want to achieve and who they want to be as a group. That is not always determined by the coach or the club and they have the freedom to do that. And they have the discipline after to do what they said they want to do.
"(It's) more the way they want to live, the way they want to interact with each other and how do we want to be perceived as a team. The tactical and technical decisions, it will be mainly us deciding what we want to do but obviously there always has to be that relationship, that feel from the player that what you ask him is exactly what he can do. And he feels that he can do. If not it’s not going to work."
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