Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Agbonlahor names Arsenal pair who could succeed Aubameyang as captain
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may wonder himself whether he should continue as Arsenal captain after being left out of the squad for a breach of discipline, .
Aubameyang was the subject of two surprise selection decisions over the week. He was left on the bench at Everton on Monday, only coming on after Eddie Nketiah had already been introduced by Mikel Arteta. Gary Neville claimed after the game that he could see the forward leaving in January.
And he was nowhere to be seen on Saturday as Arsenal beat Southampton. As noted by talkSPORT, Arteta confirmed after the game that he had missed out due to a disciplinary problem. The report notes that he previously missed the North London Derby in similar circumstances.
The latest situation has seemingly thrown a question mark over whether the 32-year-old will remain as skipper. He has not been in the best form this season. And it would appear that he is no longer a guaranteed starter when available.
Interestingly, Agbonlahor has suggested that Aubameyang may himself choose to lose the captaincy. And he went on to name two potential contenders to succeed him.
“I’ve been there when you’ve sulked, when you’re not playing loads of times,” .
“Maybe Aubameyang will look at himself and go ‘you know what, I don’t deserve to be captain of Arsenal.’ Someone else like a Kieran Tierney, or maybe a younger lad like Bukayo Saka could.”
Young Arsenal squad need captain who leads by example amid Aubameyang controversy
It says a lot about the progress that Arsenal have made that they now have several contenders to potentially succeed Aubameyang. Tierney is certainly one. Meanwhile, there looks to be others with a lot of potential.
Players such as Granit Xhaka and Rob Holding have worn the armband in the past.
Arteta now has an incredibly young squad at his disposal. And they need a player to lead by example.
It must be said that all of the facts surrounding Aubameyang’s omission are not known. So it is important to hold off on any strong criticism.
But if Arteta feels that he does not lead by example, a change may well be required.