The gaffer announced today in his press briefing that our well-beloved Captain Auba is being stripped of his captaincy after another disciplinary breach. Mikel Arteta being the gentleman that he is wasn't willing to delve into the nitty-gritty of the issue that caused this action by the club, but reports from The Athletic suggests that it was as a result of late return from an abroad trip, similar to the incident in March where he missed our Spurs victory.
Many could argue that the club and manager's stand on this particular matter is a tad too harsh considering that other managers would have or have in the past forgiven graver offences like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looking the other way after Maguire's fracas in Greece but definitely not our Arteta who wouldn't stand for any form of disarray in the ranks.
According to the manager, it was one of the most difficult decisions he has had to make considering that he and Auba have been getting along just fine, but it was the right one to make for both the team and club Arsenal as a whole. Aubamayeng would also miss tonights West Ham game as a result of the disciplinary action taken and the manager hasn't stated when next he will be available.
We all hope to see him back in high spirits sooner rather than later, because although Aubameyang hasn't scored a goal in the Premier League since October 22nd, he is arguably one of the best strikers in the world, right up there with Lacababy.
Who is going to be the next skipper?
According to the manager, we presently have a leadership team with the likes of Lacazette who wore the armband in the Southampton match and Xhaka as members of the leadership team at the moment and the band would move from one to the other until a permanent captain is but in place.
However, during the course of the year 2021, we have seen leadership qualities in the likes of Tierney and his never say die attitude, Ramsdale's command from the back and his consistency between the sticks, Odegaard's ability to work with any team he is selected with and on many occasions lift the spirit of the team. Any of these players would make for a great captain.
In addition, the likes of Saka(although young), Ben White and Tomiyasu can also not be ignored for this position as they have consistently put up great performances whenever they have been called upon. That is another great quality of a leader as we wouldn't want the captain of the Arsenal team to be in any shape or form a slacker.
lastly, the captain should be vocal and have a good vantage point on the pitch in order to instruct his teammates on how to maintain the team structure and also make changes when necessary. Our Brazillian defender Gabriel seems to fit the bill and would also make a very good captain, but I doubt if he has a good command of the English Language to seamlessly bark out orders to the team in the heat of a game.
In conclusion, Lacazette seems to be the obvious replacement to the recently ousted skipper, but knowing that his contract expires soon doesn't make him seem like a permanent decision. As the manager said in his statement, he has a leadership team at the moment with Laca and Xhaka being the principal members of it and he is optimistic they will steer the ship till a more permanent decision is made on the captaincy of our team.
Who do you think should be the next Arsenal captain?
We are all super excited about our game at West Ham tonight and hopeful we would come out victors. COYG!!!
