Martin Keown has stated that he thinks Unai Emery’s decision to appoint Granit Xhaka as the club’s captain is a “wrong” one, with the former Gunners man also noting that he’d have given it to Aubameyang over the Swiss midfielder.
It was reported by BBC Sport earlier today that Xhaka has been handed the armband at the Emirates following Laurent Koscielny’s move to Bordeaux earlier this year.
At first glance, this seems like a questionable decision from the Spaniard, it now means the Swiss international is less likely to be dropped, something that may be needed in the future give his reluctancy to dip in form.
And it seems like this view is one that is shared by Keown, who was far from happy with Emery’s decision to make Xhaka their new skipper.
As per the Sun, when speaking about Emery’s decision on TalkSport, Keown stated “This is a massive call and I think perhaps he [Emery] has got it wrong. This is really going to divide the fans”.
Keown then added “I would have gone for Aubameyang, he would have been a pretty good fit. It might have given him a little more extra responsibility.”
Given that Arsenal’s squad isn’t blessed with a whole host of experienced players, we can sort of see why Emery has gone with the decision to make Xhaka captain over other stars.
However, when you take into considering the Swiss star’s shaky form so far this year, combined with the fact that he doesn’t seem to be a fan favourite amongst a large share of the club’s supporters, this choice from Emery is definitely a questionable one to say the least.
