Arsenal: Like it or not, the players know best

The Arsenal players have given their backing for Granit Xhaka to continue as club captain. And like it or not, the players know best.

You know when your boss is a good boss or not. In the way they talk, the way they act with people, customers, other employees, yourself. You can tell if a boss is good or not.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — The Granit Xhaka One

Similarly, you can recognise those individuals who are natural leaders. It is little things, often. Perhaps their communication is especially clear. It might be that they tremendously positive and encouraging. Or maybe it is that they understand how and when to challenge those around them to harness growth. Whatever it might be, you can tell.

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And those that are in the best positions to judge someone’s leadership abilities are those that are being led by them. It is very difficult to determine if someone is a natural and positive leader when you are not being led by them, obviously. So, when Unai Emery came to ask the Arsenal players who they believe should be the club captain, their answer should be listened to, even if it is one that many fans my disagree with.

Emery appointed Granit Xhaka as his captain earlier this season after taking a vote from his players. While many from an external point of view may disagree with the decision, myself included, the players know best. They are the ones being led by Xhaka.

After Sunday’s debacle in which Xhaka was roundly booed by Arsenal fans as he trudged off the pitch, telling them to ‘f*ck off’ and storming down the tunnel as he ripped his shirt from off his chest, there have been calls for him to be stripped of the captaincy. Those calls are not entirely unfounded.

But following Wednesday night’s 5-5 draw with Liverpool, which Xhaka missed as he was held out of the squad for his own mental well-being, the squad has remained behind the Swiss international. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was rather emphatic when speaking about Xhaka’s leadership qualities and the support he has from the rest of the squad:

"“The manager decides if he’s the captain or not. But for us as a group, as a leader, we support him all the way. He’s a lovely guy, he’s a bit devastated because he has got a good family, a good heart and he loves the club. When someone goes through that, we have to support him and we are together. We wanted to win the game for him.”"

Fans may not think that Xhaka is a wise choice to captain the squad. Fans may want him to no longer hold the captain’s armband. Fans may believe that Emery was wrong to appoint him in the first place and is now paying the price for that mistake. But most of the time, fans — myself very much included — do not really understand the situation.

Players, on the other hand, do. They live it. They have an unrivalled peek into the club and the way it is run. And they believe that Xhaka is the best captain. Who am I to disagree?