Laurent Koscielny named Arsenal captain as Unai Emery picks his five 'leaders'

Koscielny and Emery met on the coach's first day at Arsenal in May
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
James Olley10 August 2018

Unai Emery today revealed Laurent Koscielny has been named Arsenal’s permanent captain despite being sidelined until the New Year with an Achilles injury.

Gunners boss Emery claimed last month he wanted “five captains” in a bid to improve the leadership within a group regularly criticised for lacking sufficient mental strength under Arsene Wenger.

And he informed his squad on Friday morning of the hierarchy on the eve of a new campaign which begins with Sunday’s visit of champions Manchester City to Emirates Stadium.

“This morning, I give the official captain first,” said Emery. “He is injured, the first captain in this group is Koscielny. Then I tell the players it is [Petr] Cech, [Aaron] Ramsey, [Mesut] Ozil and [Granit] Xhaka.”

Per Mertesacker previously held the position but barely played last term, in the final season before his retirement, with Koscielny regularly taking the armband in his absence.

Asked to explain his decision, Emery told Standard Sport: “In my career I want leaders in the team – there is the representation for every player and in every time in the season the capacity to do that.

“For that maybe also they are in the team more leaders who show this capacity. These five players are in this possibility to be the captain.

“We are working. The next station is Sunday to show our capacity and our mentality. To continue working I want one thing because it’s very important for the players to take confidence in our work, in ourselves.

“I have confidence in myself and I can give the confidence. Then we need to build and create by the way. It isn’t one thing to find quickly. You need building all the time.”

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