Arsenal to wait on new captain appointment after Aubameyang axing with Arteta to lean on leadership group

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will not make a “rash decision” over who will replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as captain, with a leadership group set to lead the team in the interim instead.

The forward is understood to have returned late from a sanctioned trip abroad and it is not the first time his punctuality has caused issues.

Aubameyang has now been axed as captain and will not be part of the squad to face West Ham on Wednesday night.

Arteta has also elected not to name a new captain right away, with the team instead being led by a core group of players.

“Well we have the leadership group and we think we have different players who have been nominated to be captain,” said Arteta. “In the last game it was [Alexandre] Laca[zette], we had Granit [Xhaka] who has been captain as well, so we will follow that.

“It is a really unpleasant situation and it is not the moment to make any rash decision. That leadership group is really strong, it is the one that communicates with myself and the coaching staff and with the club in a really strong and clear way and we are going to continue that.

Mikel Arteta has stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the Arsenal captaincy
IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images

“That is one of the decisions we make, to make that group a little bit better and try to educate them and try to get the right feedback all the time and build the trust and a strong culture around the club. It is working really well so we will continue to do that.”

Arsenal have had a high turnover of captains over the past decade, with the last two also being stripped of the armband.

And asked how crucial it is to get the next appointment right, Arteta said: “It's really important but for me having the leadership group is something that has been tremendously helpful because then you get different voices.

“It is a really multicultural dressing room that needs a lot of attention and different feelings and different languages, they all have to be involved and I'm comfortable with that.”

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