Michael Arteta is our true captain

HE has been doing very well since joining us and this season his % of passes completed is very high but
what really struck me is that I FEEL SAFE when he is on the pitch , either we are leading or (most importantly)
when we are losing. It looks like he will never give up and give all and thus the team will follow. I know Verminator is the captain but the true leader is Arteta imo


ps: He deserves a better thread than what i've done

Cazorla: "Arteta is a real leader. I was surprised at the level of respect he commanded in the dressing room when I first arrived."

"When Arteta talks, the team listens. Everyone considers him the captain of Arsenal. He's a leader."

"I seriously wonder how Arteta has never been capped by Spain. He has played some wonderful seasons recently."

probably true...
individually the most important player in the team atm..
we have seen how we play when he is injured... he keeps things simple and avoids risks.. neat and calm in possession.. good tackler and ballwinner.. some good through balls and assists and not to forget his occasional long rangers..
i am sure at the time of signing, none would have thought that he would be so influential in our team.. many saw him as a injury prone playmaker in his late 20s who would struggle to replace Cesc.. but Wenger saw things differently..
and i'm sure he too will be very grateful to Arsenal for giving him a bigger stage in his career.. he would have ended his career playing for some midtable teams without attracting much attention.. now he has a chance to be an Arsenal legend, in such a short time, worshipped by millions of people across the world...

There is not much we can do to repay what he has done for us is such short time. Always have been a fan of Arteta and when I found out he was a Gunner I was so happy and I knew he would be great for us. I know Arteta dream was to play for Span, but coming to Arsenal is as good for him imo, and I hope one day he gets the call he has been waiting for.

If we win EPL or CL he will become an Arsenal legend.

agree. with no disrespect to vermaelen though.

Well remember when we use to win things, we had several Captain like figures in the starting 11. Adams Keown Dixon Vieira ,Bergkamp all were captain materials and played together! We then had, Vieira, Gilberto, Cole, Lehman, Henryand Bergkamp

That was the man dif between the arsenal teams of the past that use to win, and arsenal team of the recent past that never won shit.

So maybe having several captain like figures is in the dressing room is the result of our change in mentality during tough games like the ones we have had recently (West ham, Man city, Montpolier).

Benin my friend, his name is Mikel

As much as I praise Vermaelen's pure leadership and commitment to Arsenal I am not finding myself surprised by these recent comments. Bar his Sociedad year, at PSG, Rangers, and of course at Everton he has been commented as their most influential persona and leader on and off the field. Such kind of leadership is heavily taught and focused on in Basque academies as the nicknames for positions like his are the Liderra's or more informally, the Lehandikari. Which essentially summarizes as "The Respected One" Or the "Silent Leader".

I will not be my typical Basque self and undermind Vermaelen's wonderful command and leadership yet Arteta has long been a leader dominantly of his teams.

Espana call-up? Comes down to politics as Mikel is a staunch Basque separatist and couldn't care less about Espana call up as he plies his trade for the Basque Selekzioa.

I'd call this Arsenal relationship very very similar to Gerrard-Carra of Liverpool

Vermaelen is Carra or more recently like Agger. Pure general of the backline and wears his heart on sleeve.

Gerrard is Arteta in his introspective nature but supreme leadership of the field and general play. Natural leader.

Gattuso once said: "Pirlo barely speaks but when he does, the whole room goes silent and listens to every word. Arteta's leadership is also similar to Pirlo.

Arquitecto wrote:


Espana call-up? Comes down to politics as Mikel is a staunch Basque separatist and couldn't care less about Espana call up as he plies his trade for the Basque Selekzioa.

Wow that explains a lot! well Spain's loss is Arsenal's gain i suppose! I still wish he got more recognition than he gets.

we should be grateful to him, if we hadnt signed him last season we would have gone off the rails, no way way we would have got in the champions league without him, then we wouldnt have been able to get cazorla ect, we would be in deep trouble if it werent for arteta.

As for getting a spain call up, there are simply better players there than him, i dont agree about him being unfairly treated, there are just too many great midfielders in spain

i heard somewhere that arteta declined the captaincy

Definitely would be an awesome Arsenal captain IMO. Just look at the man.

Oohhh !what about Vermaelen guys !! isn't he our Captain currently ? Me- nothing heard " " or the title is confusing me !lol

I like the dynamics of our captain and vice captain. Vermaelen being the passionate captain to rally the troops whilst Arteta is more like a midfield general, seeing the game and dictating it through his play, allowing everyone else to feed off of him and adapt to how he changes the game.

Easily our most important player, hope he stays until he retires.

Apart from him, there are other players who can be leaders if they start speaking. Sagna and Koscielny for example, should do a bit more when it comes to leading from the back. Koscielny never speaks and Sagna is always shrugging is shoulders instead of taking responsibility.

Kos and Sagna won't change