UNAI EMERY spent just over a year in charge of Arsenal before being sacked in the summer of 2019.
During his time at the Emirates, the Spanish coach installed a five-man captain’s group for the squad.
After taking charge of Arsenal in 2018, Emery needed a replacement for Per Mertesacker, who retired that summer.
When announcing his new skipper, Emery said: “I want leaders in the team, every player at every time to have the capacity to show leadership.
“But these are the five players who have a possibility to be the captain.”
Three of the five players ended up leaving Arsenal within a year, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette replacing them in the captain’s group.
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But here SunSport take a look at Emery’s original five-man list of skippers.
Laurent Koscielny – Retired
The French defender was trusted with the armband on the pitch before leaving the club in dramatic circumstances at the end of the campaign.
Koscielny refused to go on pre-season tour in 2019, before Bordeaux announced his signing by having the defender remove an Arsenal shirt to reveal the kit of the French team.
After moving to Bordeaux he was frozen out of the first-team in January 2022, before announcing his retirement three months later.
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Petr Cech – Retired
Like Koscielny, Cech, now 40, would leave at the end of the 2018-19 season when he retired from the game.
The former goalkeeper swapped the football pitch for the ice rink, spending three years with Guildford Phoenix, and he is now goaltender for semi-pro side Chelmsford Chieftains.
He also spent time as technical and performance advisor at Chelsea, but left Stamford Bridge when Todd Boehly took over last year.
Granit Xhaka – Arsenal
The only one of the original captain’s group to still be playing for the club.
Xhaka was named captain in 2019 after Koscielny’s departure, before being stripped of the role after an X-rated outburst at Arsenal fans who booed him.
Having seemed certain to leave, a stunning redemption story means the Swiss midfielder is now one of the most important members of the dressing room.
Mesut Ozil – Istanbul Basaksehir
Ozil lasted the entirety of Emery’s tenure at the Emirates, not leaving the club until 2021.
However, he was largely frozen out of the squad by Mikel Arteta, and eventually saw his contract terminated six months early.
The silky playmaker is now playing for Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.
Aaron Ramsey – Nice
Another player to leave during Emery’s short tenure, the midfielder was part of the original captain’s group but left in the summer of 2019.
It had been announced that February that he would be joining Juventus at the end of the campaign.
However, Ramsey made just 70 appearances for the Italians before being shipped out on loan to Rangers in January 2022.
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Juve terminated Ramsey’s contract when he returned from Scotland, and the Welshman joined Nice on a free transfer.
He has played 22 times for the French side this season, starting 11 games in Ligue 1.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
