Arsenal took Aubameyang’s captain’s armband, who should be his successor?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is no longer Arsenal’s captain, as he was before. The club stripped him of his captain’s armband for a disciplinary offence. In addition, the striker will again be left out of the matchday squad, what does his future look like and who will get the captain’s armband?

Arsenal beat Southampton 3-0 at the weekend, with goals scored by Lacazette, Odegaard and Gabriel. Aubameyang didn’t even make the squad for the game. He broke the rules set by Mikel Arteta.

Aubameyang did not take part in Friday’s pre-match training session. The reason was that he got a tattoo. Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta couldn’t let this transgression go unnoticed. He did not nominate the former captain for the match. But that was not all.

Arteta and Aubameyang met in person to discuss the player’s behaviour and most likely his future at the club. We don’t know exactly how the meeting went. But we know the outcome. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is no longer serving as Arsenal captain and will miss Wednesday’s game against West Ham.

The Gabon-born star striker has scored 7 goals and recorded 2 assists this season. However, he has not been doing well on the pitch lately. He hasn’t been seen at all.

Last season he signed a new contract with Arsenal, which made him the highest paid player in the team. He was the captain and was supposed to be the driving force of the team. But he lost his form and didn’t follow the rules. The punishment has come and the club is preparing for possible transfer offers to be discussed in January.

In addition, Arteta has another tough task to deal with. Who will succeed Aubameyang and become Arsenal’s new captain? Among the favourites, according to Arteta, are Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka. But there are other question marks.

Lacazette is the current vice-captain, and whenever Aubameyang wasn’t on the pitch, it was Lacazette who had the captain’s armband on his shoulder. However, the French striker’s contract expires in June and it doesn’t look like he’s going to renew it.

On the other side is Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka. He captains the Swiss national team. He was also Arsenal captain at one time, but lost his armband due to a dispute with the fans. He wasn’t delivering quality performances and the fans booed him, Xhaka threw the armband away in front of them and the club punished him with suspension.

So Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could be thinking about other players. There’s Kieran Tierney, for example, the Scottish wing-back who looks like a real leader on the pitch. He’s not afraid to go into tough tackles, he gives his all every game and always stands up for his teammates.

Brazilian defender Gabriel or new summer signing Aaron Ramsdale, the English goalkeeper, play with similar leadership qualities on the pitch. We can get new information from Mikel Arteta via the press conference after the West Ham game. The teams will face each other on Wednesday at 9pm.

Source: Arsenal