Head coach Unai Emery has named Granit Xhaka as club captain following the departure of former captain Laurent Koscielny.
Rob Holding had earlier confirmed reports that Emery made the team pick their captain themselves through a secret voting process.
The news of Granit Xhaka as club captain was revealed by the coach to the squad on Friday Morning. It also happens to be the day Granit Xhaka turns 27 years old.
Happy birthday, Granit! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/iSgAJ1i6JJ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 27, 2019
Emery is still deliberating over a vice-captain, with forwards Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang understood to be the leading contenders.
6 – Since the start of 2018-19, Arsenal are the only club to have had as many as six different players start more than one Premier League game as captain. Shift.
Laurent Koscielny (13 games)
Granit Xhaka (10)
Mesut Özil (8)
Petr Čech (7)
Aaron Ramsey (4)
Nacho Monreal (2) pic.twitter.com/mU3V7DelKc— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 27, 2019
The coach had earlier revealed that he favours a 5 man captain system where the team will have 5 captains in the squad. Granit Xhaka had already captained Arsenal six times this season, so it wouldn’t come as a shocker to him.
The news of Granit Xhaka has been met with mixed reactions by the fans of the club. A player who oftens divide opinions among fans, his choice as captain will spark debate among the fan base.
The Xhaka experiment continues. There’s a player in there somewhere and he clearly has leadership qualities, but I think most of us are ready for Willock/Geun/Torreira. https://t.co/ofYqGzvfOJ
— AFCAMDEN (@AFCAMDEN) September 27, 2019
Before everyone loses their mind, it's important to understand the players know who is the best to lead them than the fans. If the players think Xhaka is good enough so be it. He clearly has leadership qualities. Get behind him.
— P™ (@SemperFiArsenal) September 27, 2019
