Unai Emery Finally Appoints Arsenal Captain

The long wait by fans for the announcement of a new club captain by new boss Unai Emery has finally come to an end.

Former club captain Per Mertesacker retired at the end of last season making the captaincy slot vacant and even as his assistant Laurent Koscielny is injured, many wondered who will be the one to assume the role of leadership.

As earlier stated by Unai Emery shortly after he came in to replace Arsene Wenger in May, he has picked five captains for the new season.

Laurent Koscielny emerged the main man with Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka making it as vice captains.

It isn't yet clear what the hierarchy of the vice captains will look like but definitely one of them will act as captain for now since Koscielny is out through injury.

If the list of vice captains was arranged according to rank then we will have Cech as the skipper of the team. However, with Leno likely to be the number 1, my assumption could be wrong.

As predicted, Ramsey who still has contract matters to settle with the club was named in the 5-man captaincy list. The Wales international previously said in an interview that he would readily accept the role if offered.

Arsenal will have their first Premier League game of the season against current league holders Manchester City on Sunday. By then we will get to know who will lead the team. Until then...

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Why Aaron Ramsey Has Still not Signed Contract

It’s all done and dusted! The 2018 summer transfer window came to a close on Thursday with the new season drawing nearer to its launch. Five signings were made by Arsenal during the window but there is still a pressing issue in the area of player management.

As many of us already know, Aaron Ramsey is yet to agree on a contract extension at Arsenal. The Wales international has been in talks with the club over his future but there has been no positive outcome so far. This has caused some to doubt if he will remain at the club beyond the end of his current deal which expires at the end of the 2018/19 season.

If one is to go by what David Ornstein stated on transfer deadline day, Arsenal could get a big blow despite their optimism. According to the highly reputable and reliable BBC journalist, the Gunners are not anywhere close to recording success in their pursuit, thus stirring worry in the camp.

You may wonder what the demand of the player is. It is monetary in many cases but as per Ramsey’s situation, it isn’t all about that. From what the player said in an interview he offered during the club’s recent tour of Singapore, it is something that has to do with his playing position.

The 27-year-old midfielder whose natural position is in the middle of the pitch has asked to be given an assurance of playing there and not on the flank. His being played out of position many times in the days of Arsene Wenger did him less good, hence, he wants a change.

“I am a player who always gives 100% regardless of what’s going on”, the former Cardiff man said. “I will give everything to achieve something special this season. I’ve got a year left and I am looking forward to being in an Arsenal shirt in the new season.

“We have to come to an agreement with what we want, so maybe something might happen.

“My preferred position is in the middle of the park. I’ve made it clear many, many times that I don’t like playing out wide.”

We can conclude from his remarks that just one condition is holding him back. This is not something so hard to tackle if I may say, as contrasted to when it has to do with the cash, you know?

It is certain that Arsenal will not relent over this. Unai Emery has taken Ramsey as a priority in his team and losing him for any reason at this time will tell on his debut season as manager. Ramsey is even one of the candidates shortlisted for captaincy, so you can see how high he is placed by the former Paris Saint Germain coach.

We can only hope and pray he does the needful soon to enable him focus on helping the club to glory. To back up claims that his refusal to sign is not about the cash, you can read this article.

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I Will Accept Arsenal Captaincy

With a new era at Arsenal and the retirement of ex-captain Per Mertesacker at the end of last season, it has become necessary to appoint a new captain.

The Gunners will begin the 2018/19 Premier League season with a clash with current league holders Manchester City on Sunday but strange enough, fans are still pondering on who will be in possession of the armband.

Unai Emery said upon his arrival at the Emirates Stadium in May that he would like to work with five captains, a style commonly adopted in the Spanish La Liga. However, it is expected that one of those would be the main man or can there be five captains in a ship? No! Having two would even end up disastrous if both give conflicting orders at the same time.

In view of this, one of the predicted and much talked about candidates is Aaron Ramsey. The 27-year-old was hailed by the new manager who revealed that he plans to build his team around him. This has made some fans conclude that he will be the new skipper while others feel Granit Xhaka is the ideal one to lead the line.

Speaking on the vacancy in the leadership position at the club, Ramsey revealed that just like every other player, he would happily accept to captain Arsenal if offered the highly-demanding role.

“The captaincy is a massive responsibility and it would be an honour to captain this club,” Ramsey said, smiling.

“The manager is yet to decide so we’ll have to wait and see. But if the opportunity is there, I don’t think any player would say no. I’m no different.”

There is still uncertainty over the future of the Wales international whose contract expires at the end of the season. All attempts to tie him down to a new one has so far fallen on rocky ground though Arsenal are optimistic that he will commit his future to the London club.

The clue the longest-serving Arsenal player gave here as to why there is a delay in agreeing a deal is that he wants to take his rightful place on the pitch. He is fed up with playing out of position on the flank and want to be assured of a place in the cemtre before putting pen to paper.

We expect Arsenal to announce who their new captain will be before they begin their season on Sunday, August 12.

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One More Signing for Arsenal Before Transfers End

Contrary to what we have already been told, there is news that Arsenal will be adding to the squad before the end of the summer transfer window.

We were earlier today told by Telegraph journo Jeremy Wilson that there will be no more 'transfer ins' for the Gunners in this current window which shuts tomorrow and if we are to go strictly by his claim, we will shove aside any news of a possible transfer but who are we to do so? After all, "only god knows tomorrow", they say.

At a time when we have set our minds up to do with just the five summer signings we have, the Evening Standard has reignited our hopes by telling us that Arsenal are making a late move for Domagoj Vida.

Having splashed about £70 million on players since his arrival in June, Unai Emery is believed to be ready to bring in another centre-back.

The move for the Besiktas man became necessary when Calum Chambers was sent out on a season-long loan to newly-promoted Fulham.

We have reportedly held talks with his club and they have given the assurance that Vida will be ours as long as we cough out the sum of £26.9 million.

The newspaper also informed us that Arsenal are not in the financial position to pay such and amount and as such have offered Danny Welbeck and David Ospina in exchange.

However, Besiktas who actually want Ospina are not interested in a swap deal.

With this condition, Arsenal will have to sell out some players to enable them raise funds for the switch.

But wait! £26.9 million for Vida? Na! Na!! Na!!! That wouldn't be good business for us considering the fact that the world hasn't seen much of his impact except for what we saw at the World Cup where he represented Croatia.

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Pictures: Behind the Scene Shots From Arsenal Photocall

As the new season draws closer, preparations are being made to welcome it in grand style and one of such moves was to have the usual photocall session.

The players were at London Colney on Wednesday afternoon for the exercise and some behind the scene pictures have been shared by the club official website.

Arsenal will begin the 2018/19 Premier League season with a game against Manchester City on Sunday August 12 before locking horns with Chelsea on Matchday 2.

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