Why Tierney must replace disgraced Aubameyang as Arsenal captain
Martin Macdonald
- 15 Dec 2021 11:28 GMT
- 3 min read
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped for the Arsenal captaincy, with Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney the current favourite to replace him in that role at the Emirates.
Last weekend, Arsenal enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory against Southampton, with Aubameyang not named in the squad.
The conspiracy theories started as to the reason for his absence, and Mikel Arteta confirmed it was due to a disciplinary issue.
The disciplinary issue is believed to be Aubameyang's frequent lack of punctuality.
Arsenal released a statement this week announcing that the Gabonese striker would no longer be their captain moving forward.
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"Following his latest disciplinary breach last week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no longer be our club captain, and will not be considered for selection for Wednesday's match against West Ham United," the statement read.
"We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed."
Aubemyang is currently on massive wages at the Emirates and the club could look to move him on in January if a suitor makes their interest known.
He has, after all, been performing well under expectations this campaign.
Whether he stays or not, a new club captain will have to be announced.
Why should Tierney be Arsenal captain?
Former Arsenal favourite Martin Keown believes Tierney should be captain, even if the Scot may have a "strained" relationship with Arteta, who played Nuno Tavares at left-back instead over a period earlier in the campaign.
"Now Arteta has acted, he's got the chance to select his own skipper," Keown wrote in the Daily Mail.
"Under his management, I believe Kieran Tierney has been the standout player who could fulfil that role.
"But Tierney's relationship seemed strained with his manager recently when he returned from injury and wasn't brought straight back into the team."
Arsenal have a very young squad at the moment and so candidates for the captaincy are few and far between, with perhaps Alexandre Lacazette, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka the only senior players who are involved in the discussion alongside Tierney.
The former Celtic star undoubtedly remains the best option, however.
He has, by far, the most trophy wins in his career within the current Arsenal squad, having accumulated a bucketload in his time in Glasgow.
Critics would point to the alleged poorer standard in Scotland, but winning constantly develops a mentality within a player, and you can certainly see that with Tierney.
His commitment, aggression and enthusiasm bombing up and down the left wing is at the same level no matter who the opposition, and that is the standard that needs to be set at Arsenal if they are to become an elite side again.
Despite his age at the time, Tierney has also captained Celtic so understands the pressure of leading a team expected to win every single match.
