Every Arsenal captain from the Premier League era ranked from worst to best

Throughout history, Arsenal have been blessed with some incredible squads. The distinction between what’s considered a “good” squad and an “incredible” squad involves one pivotal role, the wearer of the captain’s armband.

Over the course of the Premier League era, Arsenal have had 14 different captains. So, in true Pain in the Arsenal fashion, we thought we’d rank all 14 of them from the very worst to the very best.

Before we jump into the list, we should first address the ground rules. Firstly, we are ranking where they stand in this list as CAPTAINS, not as players. This means that while number one might not be a better player than number two, number one may have certain characteristics which made them a better captain.

Secondly, we are basing the ranking system based on the time period in which the players wore the captain’s armband only. This means that if a player on this list played for Arsenal for 10 seasons, but only filled the captain’s role for one season, then their position in this ranking will be based on one season out of 10.

Lastly, this ranking will only include Arsenal captains from the Premier League era. The Premier League was founded in 1992-93, so it will only include captains during and after this season.

Every Arsenal captain from the Premier League era ranked from worst to best

Without further ado, prepare to be taken for a trip down memory lane…

14. Granit Xhaka

I know, I know. Arsenal fans love Granit Xhaka and rightly so. However, looking at this list from a captain's perspective, it’s hard to think of another player who had a worse tenure while wearing the armband.

He only played 10 games as Arsenal captain, after being given the role courtesy of a fan vote. The reason he was stripped of captaincy is the exact reason why he is bottom of this list - He swore at the Arsenal crowd after being taken off as a substitute, appearing to lose his future at the club.

However, a few seasons later and thanks to the help of former captain (hold that thought) Mikel Arteta as manager, he won back the love of fans. In his final game as an Arsenal player, he scored a brace and received a standing ovation from the supporters he had fought hard to win back. Therefore, Xhaka without the armband beats Xhaka with the armband.

13. William Gallas

It’s hard to choose between the worst two but Gallas just about makes it as a better captain than Xhaka… Just.

Gallas wasn’t the most popular figure at Arsenal, despite winning captaincy in 2007. After THAT woeful captain’s performance against Birmingham, where he sat on the floor and refused to do anything about the poor result, this leaves a worse taste in Arsenal’s mouth than when he joined Spurs.

If anything, Gallas had the armband for too long before Arsene Wenger finally had enough of him. Again, a quality player, but a bad captain.

Continued on the next slide...