It was a watching brief for the new Arsenal captain against Vitoria on Wednesday afternoon.
On Tuesday it was confirmed by Gunners head coach Unai Emery that Granit Xhaka had been stripped of the armband following his outburst towards supporters during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace a couple of weeks ago.
Taking over those duties is leading scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“But I was speaking with him this morning and also I decided he is not one of the captains in our group,” Emery said. “I decided that and I told him this morning.
“We have now Aubameyang, Hector, Lacazette and Ozil.
![[FILE] Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) runs with the ball as Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel closes in during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / POOL / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/000_97B779-scaled-e1703231851386-120x86.jpg "Liverpool host Arsenal in battle for Premier League Christmas No. 1 4")
“They are the four captains and the first now is Aubameyang.”
Interestingly, Aubameyang hasn’t yet put out a statement since being confirmed as the new Gunners captain, nor had he been active on social media.
That was until teammate and close friend Alexandre Lacazette was introduced as a second half substitute in the 1-1 draw against Vitoria in the Europa League as he wrote “come on G @lacazettealex” on his Instagram stories.
There was another social media message from the 31-year-old when Shkodran Mustafi finally broke the deadlock.
Aubameyang captained the Gunners from the start against Wolves last weekend, but his first official game as skipper will be against Leicester City at the weekend should Emery hand him a recall.
The decision to name the Gabon international as the new captain was backed by Hector Bellerin.
“As I commented after the night of the game sometimes it’s hard to deal with feelings,” he said. “He made a mistake. As a dressing room we have to be together.
“We back him. He has played his part.
“We respect the decision of the coach and the club. For us it’s to give him our love and care.”
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
