Changes are afoot at Arsenal ahead of the 2022/23 season as Mikel Arteta prepares to name a new permanent captain.
Following the decision to take the armband away from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last December as a punishment for another disciplinary issue, the Gunners manager entrusted Alexandre Lacazette to skipper the side for the remainder of last season as a short-term solution.
But with the Frenchman departing on a free transfer earlier in the summer, the time has come for Arteta to decide the captain going into the 2022/23 season as Arsenal's captain and vice-captain at the start of last season are longer at the club.
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However, the Spaniard has revealed that he is opting to take a fresh approach with the captaincy. Refusing to follow the tradition of appointing just one captain, Arteta wants to place other players in his first-team squad in a leadership positions on and off the pitch.
"It will be a captain and a group," he said. "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.
"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. 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."
Now, Martin Odegaard - who is also the captain of the Norway national team - appears to be the leading candidate to get the role at Arsenal on a permanent basis after skippering the side during the final eight games of last season - and taking the armband for the pre-season friendly win over Everton last weekend.
And in Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding, Benjamin White, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Magahales - all viewed as leaders in the dressing room - Arteta has five players who could make up the leadership group behind Odegaard. Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has promised to be a leader on the pitch with or without the armband next season.
Although, the number of players in the leadership could increase further as 'natural leader' William Saliba has been tipped as a potential contender after captaining France U21's last season, whilst football.london have already looked at Fabio Vieira's credentials following his £30m arrival from Porto this summer.
With that said, another summer signing in, Oleksandr Zinchenko, could also be added to the leadership group should he complete his £32m transfer from Manchester City.
Despite only wearing the armband a handful of times for club and country during his career, in March 2021, the midfielder became the youngest captain in Ukraine's history and during the unfortunate invasion of his country by the Russian military has been described by the Times as a 'mature and articulate spokesman'.
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