Arsenal's latest captaincy controversy and their captaincy history

It's been a month since Swiss international Granit Xhaka was named as club captain for Arsenal this season. Manager Unai Emery had left the decision of picking the club captain with his players. According to a number of reports in the British media, Granit Xhaka was voted almost unanimously as the club captain. While the decision wasn't very popular with Arsenal fans, in football, the captain of the club has been known to enjoy robust support, at the club's home ground at least.

On October 1st, Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United side that was in the middle of a poor run in the league. On the half-hour mark, Granit Xhaka, captaining Arsenal on the night, ducked to avoid an effort from Scott McTominay. The Scotsman's effort gave United the lead in the game. After drawing the game, Xhaka drew quite some flak for ducking in the buildup to United's goal. Strike one.

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Last weekend, Arsenal welcomed Crystal Palace at the Emirates. With Arsenal leading the game at the hour-mark, Xhaka was called off, in order to be replaced by youngster Bukayo Saka. Amid heavy booing, the Arsenal captain appeared to tell the home supporters off, as he proceeded towards the Arsenal bench. Strike two. 

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Arsenal's captaincy history

This begs the question, what is it with Arsenal's recent luck in terms of club captains? Having seen the likes of Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams captain the side in their glory years, Arsenal have turned to Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny in recent times. Fabregas succeeded William Gallas as club captain in 2011 and angered the Gunners fans when he chose to attend the Spanish Grand Prix, instead of Arsenal's final game against Fulham that season. Then came Robin van Persie, who famously departed the Gunners in favour of winning titles with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Which he did, mind you.

Laurent Koscielny was selected as the club captain for the 2018-19 season. The French centre-back refused to travel on Arsenal's pre-season tour to the United States and left for Bordeaux earlier this season. His unveiling involved the Frenchman sporting an Arsenal jersey, which he then removed to unveil a Bordeaux jersey. Naturally, this didn't go down too well with Arsenal fans. 

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Xhaka becomes the latest to be embroiled in a captaincy controversy for the Gunners. The former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder was known to be temperamental in the Bundesliga. Incidentally, he was also one of the most booked players in the Bundesliga. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal's captaincy issues will be solved this season. Xhaka's relationship with the home fans seems beyond repair after his latest transgression. Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil is rumoured to have the armband for Arsenal's Carabao Cup visit to Liverpool. The Gunners could do with bringing the enigmatic German out of his exile, especially considering that Xhaka has been in poor form for the Gunners in recent fixtures. 

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