Arsenal: Olivier Giroud Feasibly Next In Line For Captain

Arsenal has a developing trend of the line of captaincy and while Shkodran Mustafi seems like a leader, it may be Olivier Giroud who gets the armband next.

Arsenal has had a rotating door when it comes to the captaincy. Arsene Wenger gives it usually to whoever has the most experience. It’s not a matter of leadership, though by the time a player gets to the experience levels as a traditional Gunner captain, they have their fair share of leadership.

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Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta have been our last two captains. Case and point.

given their lack of time being on the pitch, that armband usually fell to Santi Cazorla or Laurent Koscielny. Again, experience over leadership. They have been here a long time, they understand it, and while they may not be the most outspoken leaders on the team, they lead with their play, at the very least.

So while there has been a lot of clamor for Shkodran Mustafi to be the next captain (Granit Xhaka too, minus the recent bouts of disciplinary issues), it doesn’t follow the natural string of progression to see it fall to the German. Even in spite of how much of a vocal presence he is on the pitch.

And, since he is only 24, there would be plenty of time to groom him into the long-term captain we’ve been pining for.

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But with Wenger, it’s never like that. Koscielny is the de facto captain now and that will likely remain until Per Mertesacker retires (assuming that every happens). Koscielny isn’t exactly a vocal leader though and he isn’t one to harness control of the team with his voice. His play? Absolutely. But sometimes you need to speak too.

Instead, it seems likely that Olivier Giroud could be either the next captain, or the vice-captain to Koscielny. Giroud has been with and grown with the club for years and has emerged at a place of serious regard.

Take for instance the match against Burnley. When Granit Xhaka got sent off, there was a wave of dejection through the team, but it was Giroud who went over to Xhaka and gave him a small bit of encouragement.

That is something a captain would do.

Plus, Giroud has been given the armband in lesser competitions and he has worn it with pride.

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Wenger is already grooming him for some form of captaincy, either vice or actual captain, it’s just a matter of time before he gets it.