Following the stripping of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the captaincy of Arsenal, the head coach off the club, Mikel has come out to say he has not decided on who the next captain of the club will be. The Gabon international was stripped of the captaincy after his ‘latest’ disciplinary breach, with the striker not involved against Southampton 3-0 win and set to remain unavailable in their West Ham as well.
Lacazette led the Arsenal team out for the 3-0 win over the Saints at the weekend and is a member of the “leadership group” at the Emirates. Still, Arteta has said he is yet to name the club’s new captain, and Lacazette is just there for temporal bases.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game with West Ham, Arteta said: “I don’t have much more to say. I think it’s a really clear statement from the club. It’s a decision we’ve made following the last incident we had with the player, and this is where we stand.”
The Spanish international also said: “We did it both with the club and face to face with the player. He had to accept the decision. It is a really unpleasant situation. We have a leadership group. In the last game, we had Laca. We had Granit, who was captain as well. It’s not the time to make any rash decisions.” Aubameyang has become the third Arsenal player to be stripped of the captain’s armband after William Gallas and Granit Xhaka.