Mikel Arteta delivers update on Arsenal FC captaincy
Mikel Arteta says he will stick with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Arsenal captain for now
Mikel Arteta says he will stick with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Arsenal captain for the time being.
The Gabon international has worn the armband for the Gunners since being appointed as the north London club’s skipper under Unai Emery after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy.
Aubameyang has been one of Arsenal’s top-performing players this season, with the 30-year-old having scored 13 goals and made one assist in 21 Premier League games for the north London side.
It remains to be seen whether Arteta will change the captaincy situation in the coming weeks and months – but the Spanish head coach has insisted that he plans to stick with Aubameyang for the time being.
Speaking in an interview quoted by FourFourTwo, Arteta said: “The more stability we can generate with our captain and the players we have in the squad, I think the more clarity we will have to transmit to the fans what we are trying to do.
“There are many factors, some we cannot control, but at the moment everything is OK and not the time for me to change things in place because I haven’t seen real things to make the decisions.
“I have been at clubs that have four or five captains. It is more a leadership group than captains. At the end it is one guy wearing the armband and after the team picks the leaders.
“The moment they pick the leaders is when someone talks if they listen or they are looking at the roof. That is when you see.”
Arsenal will return to FA Cup action on Monday night when they host Leeds United at The Emirates.
The north London side head into the game on the back of their impressive 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League last week in what was their first victory since Arteta was appointed at the end of last month.
Arsenal are aiming to break back into the top four this season after they finished fifth and without a trophy last term.
