The brilliant Chris Wheatley of Football.London has shared that Arsenal will review their playing leadership group before next season, with a revamp to the current group unavoidable.
Arsenal currently adopt a more shared system of several leaders within the squad in an idea the club tell was introduced by Unai Emery, rather than the traditional setup of a captain and vice-captain.
Wheatley shares that Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Rob Holding join captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the leadership ranks, as well as the departed David Luiz and outgoing Granit Xhaka.
CBS Sports also claim that the Gunners are asking for £20m for the long-serving Bellerin, so the club look set to lose yet another figure within this key group.
Arsenal’s leadership group will be reviewed ahead of the new season.
It’s currently made up of Aubameyang, Bellerin & Lacazette, with Holding, Luiz & Xhaka technically part of it also.
Unai Emery brought in the idea and it has since been built on by Mikel Arteta. #AFC
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 10, 2021
Mixed reports on that. Arsenal say it came from Emery though.
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 10, 2021
Not sure about Gabriel as he’s still mastering English, but Tierney is probably a dead cert.
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 10, 2021
Arsenal’s leadership has come under fierce criticism and question since their slide over the last decade, so this was already an important area that Mikel Arteta may have needed to overhaul.
It remains to be seen which players could replace the likes of Luiz, Xhaka and Bellerin if a shared system remains, considering the relatively young squad Arsenal possess, which consists of many players that haven’t been at the club for too long.