Arsenal supporters have taken to Twitter to react over hearing Alexandre Lacazette will captain their team against West Ham United tonight.
According to The Athletic, Mikel Arteta is planning to give the French attacker the armband this evening after the controversy surrounding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Aubameyang has been stripped as Arsenal captain over a disciplinary issue last week, culminating in him being dropped for the 3-0 victory over Southampton.
His fellow strker opened the scoring during that outing and, as Arsenal’s second-most senior player, is set to skipper them against the Hammers for this London derby.
Here’s how some fans of the Emirates Stadium club reacted to Arteta’s reported decision on Twitter today:
Who’s Arsenal’s next captain?
It’s a pretty damning indictment about Arteta’s squad that nobody really sticks out as an obvious replacement for the Gabon international.
And honestly, even Aubameyang was a contentious candidate and, well, that’s proven to be accurate.
The 32-year-old striker replaced Granit Xhaka as Arsenal captain a couple of years ago, after the Swiss midfielder reportedly cursed at home supporters inside the Emirates Stadium.
The thing about Lacazette is, it isn’t going to be him.
That’s because the former Lyon marksman is out of contract in North London this summer – and making him permanent captain until May is a relatively senseless choice.
Unless, of course, Arteta and Edu award Lacazette a new contract, but even that wouldn’t be received warmly among Arsenal supporters.
Scoring goals is the club’s biggest problem under Arteta and it’s probably because their best two strikers are a combined 63 years of age.
Major changes are needed in Arsenal’s strikeforce and for that reason, Lacazette won’t be earning a new contract, even if he proves himself a remarkable leader.
As for Aubameyang’s long-term replacement as skipper, well that really remains to be seen.
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