Saturday, 18 June 2016

Arsenal have a captaincy conundrum following Mikel Arteta's exit



0:00


Laurent Koscielny says Arsenal must be active in the transfer window this summer.
When it was announced last month that Arsenal were letting Mikel Arteta leave the club, the news was offset by the purchase of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach.

The signing of the 23-year-old Swiss international fills an important gap for Arsene Wenger. Not only does he add some physicality to the midfield, he brings a range of passing from deep positions they have lacked since Arteta's influence on the team waned over the last couple of seasons.

In his time at Everton, the Spaniard was a more attack-minded player, but Wenger deployed him as an unconventional holding player, with an ability to link defence and attack. In that sense, Xhaka's arrival will allow Arsenal to play the way the Frenchman prefers, dictating the pace and rhythm of the game with much more control than we saw in the last campaign.

Arsenal aren't just losing a player, though -- they're losing their captain. Although he didn't play much last season, Arteta was still hugely respected in the dressing room and players like Santi Cazorla and Hector Bellerin have spoken openly about how he helped them settle into life in England.

For many, a captain should be a blood-and-thunder type. Arsenal fans still look back wistfully on the days of Tony Adams, a no-nonsense, lead by example but also lead-by-shouting-really-loudly kind of skipper. Ask Ma

No comments:

Post a Comment