Arsenal: 5 reasons Granit Xhaka should be captain… again

2. He’s been here

One of the parameters that I especially look for in a captain candidate is how long a player has been at the club. It takes a while to settle in at a club and to get to know the ins and outs and embed yourself in the culture therein. It’s one of the reasons I wasn’t a huge fan of Aubameyang becoming the captain. He’s only been here a couple years.

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Xhaka has been here for half a decade. He’s grown with this club through four different managers, he’s nearly walked himself back to Germany following a dispute, he’s been the captain once, he’s done so many things at this club.

Few can claim to be as seasoned a Gunner as Xhaka currently is. Only Bellerin can hold a candle to him, but Bellerin may be headed for the exit. It’s not long now before Xhaka is the longest-tenured Arsenal player and how convenient that he is such a leader and such a responsible teammate. It’s almost as if this was meant to be.

But it’s time to talk about the big issue, so let’s finish up at No. 1.