Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the perfect captain for this club

Arsenal have a lot of issues, but handing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the armband is just the figurehead of all of them. How appropriate!

I have spent a lot of time complaining about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang serving as the Arsenal captain, but I think I need to reprise my misdirected anger. Because it’s more clear than ever before that Aubameyang is the perfect captain for a mid-table club with zero backbone, no fight, and no presence when it gets tough.

So for that, a hearty applause. What an astute appointment! You don’t want someone like Granit Xhaka, who stands up and admits his mistakes, holds his teammates accountable and will always, always give his best for the club.

You want someone being paid a lot of money, who takes dumps in the middle of a match, and who is going to leave at the end of the year. Oh, and he’s older. Which is unfortunately how the captaincy has been decided at this club for far too long.

Why does no one at this club seem to appreciate the captaincy? The club captain is supposed to be someone who embodies what the club is all about. Someone who speaks to his teammates when they’re down, or struggling, who stands up and fights when it seems pointless to do so?

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Aubameyang is none of those things. He never has been. I can’t even fault him for not being those things, because he never has been. The same way that Mesut Ozil isn’t an effort-driven guy and Granit Xhaka isn’t a defensive midfielder. I won’t criticize a player for what they’re not.

I will, however, criticize those managers who try to turn players into something they’re not when it clearly isn’t working. And that’s what we have here with Aubameyang. This is such a cop-out decision. I would rather Calum Chambers be captain. At least he talks.

I would rather Matteo Guendouzi, at least he’s effort driven.

It’s all indicative of a club that doesn’t know what they’re doing. That’s what this comes down to. When you don’t even know who is running the club or what the players stand for, how are you going to make an intelligent appointment at captain?

You’re not.

So keep the armband on him! I just hope that next time he runs off the pitch for a mid-match bathroom break, he lets someone else take the armband for a second. Then again, it’s not like we’d even notice the difference anyway.