Arsenal: Laurent Koscielny reaffirms the need for real captain

Arsenal will be left desperate for defenders against Chelsea, which just proves that the Gunners need a real captain and not Laurent Koscielny.

Arsenal has been able to rely on Laurent Koscielny for the past half decade. He has made himself such a reliable, unquestionable presence on the defense that he is damn near beyond reproach.

At least as a defender.

But as a captain, the questions have always been there. He has never been that vocal, outspoken leader that you would prefer to have in a captain. His play does half of the speaking, but the other half is left wanting.

And after his red card against Everton, I have to wonder even more about his viability as a captain. The Frenchman made a horrendous tackle in the 14th minute. Even as I sat there and griped about Michael Oliver’s prejudices, I couldn’t fully say it wasn’t deserved. It was a terrible tackle.

It makes me wonder if Koscielny, our captain and fearless leader, understood the situation. I mean, it was a must win match with an even bigger much win match coming up in a week. And Koscielny went and got himself suspended and sent off.

What kind of excuse can you give for that?

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Arsenal hasn’t had a real captain in years. Not since Tony Adams. I long for the day when we can invest in a player for the long haul, give him the armband, and just watch as he leads the team in both play and in spirit.

We have gone through our fair share of captains that seemed to have it. Cesc Fabregas, for instance. Patrick Vieira. But their longevity wasn’t there and in the end, the armband fell to someone who was ill-equipped or destined to leave.

Why the band has become an honorarium rather than an actual position is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with Wenger’s power trip. In the end though, Koscielny getting a red card and notching himself a terrible suspension when the Gunners have never needed him more.

With Mustafi out, Arsene Wenger will now have no choices when it comes to his back three. Per Mertesacker, who never plays, will be holding it down in the middle. That is not the sort of situation the captain (or vice captain) should leave his team in.

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You can call it ‘one mistake’ and that’s well and good. I won’t deny that Koscielny is crucial to the club. But he isn’t a captain. It may just be one mistake but it’s at a rather poor time, is it not?

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