Former Arsenal star Ray Parlour has made the rather bold claim that his old club should’ve signed Gary Cahill during the summer transfer window as he could’ve been a decent option to become club captain.
The former England international moved from Chelsea to Palace on a free transfer this summer after his contract expired at Stamford Bridge, and he’s started well at his new club this season.
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It’s certainly easy to imagine Cahill could have been a decent signing for Arsenal given their current defensive woes, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz not looking at all convincing so far this term.
Still, it’s quite a leap to also claim the 33-year-old could definitely have become first choice for the Gunners and contributed as enough of a long-term option to be named skipper of the side, even if Granit Xhaka has shown himself in the last few days to be badly suited to his new role.
Many associated with Arsenal right now will be feeling desperate, but we’re not sure a huge number of AFC fans will agree with Parlour’s slightly outlandish suggestion on Sky Sports’ The Debate, as quoted by the Metro.
“When I look back at it, it’s so important having a good leader. Look, you need six or seven captains in a game but, you know, you need that figure,” he said.
“We had Tony Adams and then obviously were lucky because we had Patrick Vieira. They’re the sort of figures you want. At the moment, Arsenal haven’t got that, have they? That’s what they’re lacking.
“I’m looking at Crystal Palace at the weekend, Gary Cahill might have been perfect. Free transfer, centre-backs we’re really struggling, conceding lots of goals. Gary could have been straight in there as captain maybe.”