Some Arsenal fans have blasted Unai Emery’s decision to consider this star as the club’s next captain, take a look at what they had to say below.
According to The Telegraph, Grant Xhaka is in pole position to be named Arsenal’s captain, the Gunners need a new leader heading into next season given the massive fallout with defender Laurent Koscielny.
Koscielny, who has been at the Emirates Stadium for nine years, sparked controversy when he refused to travel on Arsenal’s preseason tour.
Xhaka wore the armband for the north London club on several occasions last season, but the decision to hand the star the permanent captaincy has been met with criticism from fans.
The Gunners signed Xhaka before the start of the 2016 Euros, according to BBC Sport, the north London club signed the star for £35m, the midfielder has struggled to live up to his price-tag and it’s easy to understand fans’ concerns.
In 29 Premier League appearances last season, Xhaka scored four goals and provided two assists.
The trouble that Arsenal are having is that their most experienced stars are struggling to deliver on the pitch, the likes of Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil have been limited to lesser roles under Unai Emery, so Xhaka may well be the best option of a bad bunch to take the armband.
Xhaka won’t be diving into unknown waters though, the star captained Borussia Monchengladbach at a young age and has also led his country.
Here’s what Emery had to say when he was quizzed on who would take the armband for the Gunners next season:
“We spoke a little about that. Last year we had Laurent, Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey.”
“At the moment Koscielny has a contract with us but we’ll speak with the club and him about if he will continue or not. We have players with the capacity [to be captain], one is Granit, he was a captain in the dressing room.
“We have others like Mesut, Nacho. There are other players who can take this position also. I want between three and five captains in the team.”
Arsenal have struggled with their biggest players taking leadership in recent years, hopefully Xhaka can spark a return to the top for the Gunners.
Check out some reaction to the news below:
17 mistakes a game this damn slow thinking clown
— ? (@jake325is) July 17, 2019
..would rather have Gunnersaurus as captain than this useless guy!
— reza dalili (@arsenali) July 17, 2019
Shouldn’t your captain lead by example rather than make stupid mistakes – repeatedly. Not good enough.
— jo jeffery (@rosa968) July 17, 2019
That what happens when you have no leaders at the club.
— Cute Smile Gooner©™???? (@Toocool105) July 17, 2019
Got leadership qualities but he ain’t good enough
— CaptianAfrica (@CaptianAfric4) July 17, 2019
Capt the team from the bench? If we them signings, hes finished at Arsenal..
— Daniel Fox (@dannathanian) July 17, 2019
This club is going to take years to fix
— AGNZ (@afcagency) July 17, 2019
Disaster.
— The Boston Gooner (@thebostongooner) July 17, 2019
Whilst Xhaka’s aggressive and passionate nature show that he has the character required to be club captain, the star’s performances aren’t at the level needed to inspire and motivate the rest of the Gunners squad and most importantly the fans.
