Pain in the Arsenal
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Who should be Arsenal’s Skipper for the years to come?

By Timothy Spenser

Mandatory Credit: Paul Hudson via Flickr Creative Commons
Mandatory Credit: Paul Hudson via Flickr Creative Commons /
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Now that Mikel Arteta has signed a new one year deal it seems quite inevitable he will be the captain once the season starts, with Per being the vice skipper. Yet, moving forward I can’t help but think this is not the best thing for the club, seeing as Arteta hasn’t played more than 7 games the past two years, and Per may only have two years left.

Building on that, while Per is described as some players as the dad of the dressing room he is far from a vocal, intense leader when compared to our past successful captains like Adams and Vieira.

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The main issue with our skipper situation is that both Arteta and Mertesacker are very old in what is a young squad with other potential captains waiting in the wings. Therefore I think whether it be this year or next, there needs to be a replacement in line.

Many Gooners will be reading this with one man in mind, Mr. Arsenal, Jack Wilshere, born and bred in Arsenal’s youth system. He epitomizes so much about Arsenal, he plays with tenacity, grit, unbelievable tekkers and a brilliant spirit. Yet, his future as Arsenal captain is not nearly as clear as it once was due to repeated injuries, relatively immature behavior and the superb emergence of not only Ramsey but Coquelin as well.

It really all depends on what type of leader is wanted for this squad, because those two, Ramsey and Coquelin, are in my opinion the best two for it moving forward, unless Jack can break back in to the squad and stop being what Theo Walcott called, “the biggest moaner in the squad.”

Starting with the latter, no one will think of Coquelin as a potential captain due to his only recent breakthrough into the first team; however if Wenger wants a tough vocal leader like Vieira, this is our guy. He is constantly buzzing, giving 110 percent, working his socks off to help the team in what ever way and he has dealt with great adversity.

Sure he lacks a lot of experience, and that is why I’m sure Wenger won’t look at him as the long-term successor to Arteta, but it shouldn’t be that cut and dry.

For the former, Ramsey, he is a brilliant fit if Wenger is looking for a captain that leads by example every day like Henry or Fabregas. Ramsey, as well as Coq, works like a dog day in and day out on both sides of the ball, is a good organizer of the midfield and understands very well what it means to be a member of the Arsenal.

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For me what separates Ramsey from the rest is everything he’s had to go through to get to this point.  It wasn’t too long ago he was getting booed by all the supporters at the Emirates, playing out of position(poorly back then) and was recovering from a career-threatening injury.

What did he do? He put his head down and worked, fought through it to become perhaps our best central midfielder for the future. Ramsey was also the captain of Wales when he was 21 for a period. The lad is a leader.

In regards to other options, Cazorla, as well Arteta and Per, is too old and could be leaving soon. Alexis is much too new and isn’t a real fit for having that responsibility. He is better when he is free and can worry about himself. Theo has been at Arsenal the longest but needs to get on the field first and has never really shown leadership qualities. Captain isn’t Ozil’s style, nor is it Kos’s.

I’m sure Arteta and Per will be the captains this year and Per might be the captain next year, but it is time to start thinking about who will take over the honor of wearing the armband once they depart.

Next: Who will Arsene Wenger's 'Two Signings' be?

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