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Arsenal: Wenger Smart To Make Per Mertesacker Club Captain
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly made Per Mertesacker the new club captain. This is a smart move, irrespective of whether the big German plays regularly or not.
The club captain is a role that is becoming less and less important over time. While having good leadership is necessary in a winning team, it should be inherent of having good character players within the club.
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Arsenal, on the other hand, have not had good leadership for the past decade. It is something that has held back the side repeatedly, with their character coming into question nearly every season when they have their February failure, dropping out of every major trophy hunt that year.
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Now, though, after the recent addition of Granit Xhaka, Wenger may well have found a man to hang the coat of leadership on. Xhaka is a natural leader, someone who encourages others, critiques them when necessary, builds up his teammates with the intention of improving the team as a whole.
Those type of players cannot be undervalued. It is why Manchester United had such repeated success under Sir Alex Ferguson; they had a number of players who possessed the skills and the desire to improve one another and the team as a whole.
However, Xhaka, as a new addition is not ready to step into the captaincy shoes vacated by Mikel Arteta. That honor belongs to Per Mertesacker, and it is undoubtedly a smart move. Why? Well, because it instills a sense of continuity, belief and confidence that has been missing in this side.
What great leadership does is inspires others to greatness. While Mertesacker may not be the best leader in the world, by Wenger sticking with the big German, he is showing great confidence in the make up of the squad of the past few seasons.
Mertesacker may not play each and every week this coming year. Nonetheless, with Laurent Koscielny likely to be vice captain, the pair certainly have an authority to lead the side on the pitch to great success.
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They both have respect within the dressing room and from the fans, and in Wenger choosing them, he is also giving them his backing. Ultimately, it was unlikely to be anyone else. That does not make it any less important however.