With Arsenal struggling down in 15th position in the Premier League table, Mikel Arteta needs to make sure that the north Londoners pick up points over the festive period.
In order to do just that, every player needs to be on his game and willing to give everything for the manager.
Arteta can ill afford to fall even further behind those in the upper echelons of the table, particularly if those teams just behind them have a decent couple of results too.
At present, third from bottom Fulham are just four points shy of the Gunners, who will surely wield the axe if the Spaniard starts the new year with his team in the relegation spots.
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson clearly believes that a change is needed with the captaincy in order to get things going on the pitch.
“I would give it [the captaincy] to Tierney as he’d run through a brick wall for you,” he said in his column for Sky Sports.
“He’s the one player I look at who gives everything, and I’d give him the captaincy. There’s a way of showing how much you care, and the relationship he is building with Bukayo Saka down the left looks decent.
“Arsenal need that all around the pitch, and at the moment they’re in a relegation battle. For me, I don’t see them doing what Burnley are capable of, rolling their sleeves up.
“Arsenal are searching for the perfect win but they need to start grinding out results.”
Given the lengths that Arteta went to in order to keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the club, it would be a surprise to take away the armband from him.
However, a captain should be a leader and the Gabonese has been anything but in this 2020/21 campaign.