Arsenal manager Unai Emery held his weekly news conference today, ahead of the big Monday night clash at Manchester United. The main takeaway from the session was a revelation on why Granit Xhaka will be the new head of the captaincy group for the rest of the season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil are the remaining members of the captaincy group, but there will be a hierarchy, according to the Spaniard. A player vote was the process, with the 27-year-old Swiss midfielder topping the poll.
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“I gave them [a list of] values and qualities to decide the captain and we used the vote; I wanted to know their opinion on that,” Emery said.
“[Xhaka] is mature and he has experience, and we are living all the time under pressure, under criticism as coaches, as players, as a club. The most important thing is to stand up in each moment, go ahead and show his quality with his behaviour, with his commitment. In the dressing room the players voted for him as the first.”
Emery also said that player performance will determine who makes the starting XI, not their position within the captaincy hierarchy. No doubt the appointment of Xhaka to this position will polarize the fan base, but it is what it is. Turning to injury and fitness news for the match, Emery is very happy to have his injured trio of defenders finally back in action this week.
“It’s amazing news,” Emery said.
“It was amazing to see the people’s reaction to Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin, who played his first 15 minutes [at the end].
“It was a great moment. We can be a better competitive team with them. For us having every player available is the perfect moment.”
There are of course two players still out with injury- forwards Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith Rowe.
“Now we have two injuries with Lacazette and Smith Rowe, and hopefully in a few weeks he can be training with the possibility to play,” Emery added.
“Really we are really happy with Hector, Rob and Kieran.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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