For Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the issue of team captaincy is not a big concern for Arsenal as he declared that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang named as the new skipper is not a problem at all. Aubameyang ascended to the role following the controversy that dragged down Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka famously clashed with Gunners supporters at the Emirates when he was booed after a substitution. The incident caused a furor and led to the Swiss international's demotion by Arsenal manager Unai Emery.
The midfielder has not been seen in action since and according to Metro, Arsenal will be offloading him in time for the January transfer window. Reportedly, Xhaka took offense on the way the Gunners handled the controversy and thought he no longer has a future at the Emirates.
It seemed that losing the captaincy played a big part in Xhaka's decision to head for the exit door.
As for Sokratis, the issue of who will captain the Gunners on the pitch shouldn't be the concern of the players.
"Who has the captaincy is not very important. It is important that all the team is good in the dressing room. We are like a family. In the end who brings to the pitch the captaincy is the last thing," the Greek defender told The Telegraph.
Sokratis said unity among the players is more important than worrying about the issue of captaincy.
Most importantly, playing good football and winning should be the focus of the Gunners above all, the defender stressed.
"For me it's important that Aubameyang first has to score, he has to do his work. The captaincy or who has this [armband] on the pitch, I don't think it is very important," said the 31-year-old.
For instance, Sokratis called on his teammates to tune their attention on the weekend game with Leicester City, which he described as a team on a roll, as evidenced by its No. 3 position on the Premier League table.
"Leicester is in a very good moment, they're a very hungry team. You can see this. We have to be ready to beat them," Sokratis was reported as saying.
His teammate Kieran Tierney was in total agreement. The left-back acknowledged that Arsenal is plagued by gameplay problems like the tendency lately to concede the lead in the game. Tierney said the Gunners would need to come together and deal on these issues while out there on the pitch.
"It is something we are going to need to work on as a team and on the training field as well. It is something we will be looking to correct of course, but we are in a process and just getting there," the defender said.
