Alan Smith says 3 Arsenal players have strong case to be captain, including ‘tremendous’ £30m man

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The case of the Arsenal captaincy has caught the headlines this weekend after Granit Xhaka and Eddie Nketiah’s apparent confusion over who should have worn the armband against Brentford.

Xhaka was seen almost rejecting the chance to put the armband on. It has since transpired that the plan was for Kieran Tierney to take the job when Lacazette was replaced, with Mikel Arteta confirming there was nothing sinister in the apparent confusion.

However, it has sparked the topic of conversation around who will be the next Arsenal captain. Of course, Alex Lacazette is set to leave as things stand, and he currently has the armband. And according to former striker Alan Smith, there are a few standout names in with a shout of the armband.

“There’s a few more leaders in that Arsenal team now. Gabriel’s very vocal now as well. It will be interesting to see if Lacazette does leave, what the manager goes for,” Smith told Stadium Astro.

“Martin Odegaard, you know, he captains his country at a young age. So he’s got leadership qualities. But Tierney, yeah, I think a lot of supporters would like to see him get the armband. He’s that sort of character people warm to and obviously, he’s a very good footballer.”

TBR’s View: Tierney Making Strong Case But Arsenal Well Positioned

There was a time when you could have said Arsenal don’t have any leaders in the squad. Such was their apparent weakness in some games that it looked like they were lacking characters.

However, things have changed a bit this season. The Gunners do have some big personalities now and as Smith says, any one of them could have the armband.

Tierney is, of course, a good shout to take it on. But Mikel Arteta will be very pleased to have more than one option.