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Arsenal have had a number of legendary figures as their captain over the years.

The likes of Patrick Vieira, Tony Adams, Thierry Henry, Mikel Arteta have all had the armband and did extremely well in their capacity as the list continues to go on and on.

However, in recent years the Gunners have been crying out for an individual to lead the pack and get things back to how they used to be in north London – on top of the pile and getting their hands on silverware.

Leadership has been a real issue for Arsenal over the years and instead of going down the route of picking one individual to carry the responsibility, Unai Emery decided to give the armband duties to five members of the squad he inherited (Telegraph).

Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka were all picked as players who could carry out the leadership tasks required – but 12 months down the line and the Spaniard needs to have a re-think.

The first two men have since left the club and the following three have all been linked with moves away from the club this summer.

Koscielny has been linked with a switch to Olympique de Lyonnais and reportedly has a two-year deal on the table according to Get French Football News. Ozil’s future is hardly secure after the publicised criticism he has received whilst Xhaka had been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, although it is suggested they could appoint him as the main man to fend that interest off from the Spanish side.

And, in regards to the final man in the trio, the Switerzland international is probably in the best position to become Emery’s main captain next season.

Xhaka has already openly spoken about being handed the role and what it would mean to him by telling Blick (via Metro): “Would I be incredibly proud & like to lead the team as captain? Absolutely, but I try, even without the armband, to be a leader & take responsibility.”

Now, it seems the 26-year-old is already saying the same things, but would he be suited to the role on the pitch when it matters? You bet he would.

Firstly, he has the personality and characteristics necessary to be a captain and the type of leader Arsenal are desperate to have. Never shy, he has a no-nonsense attitude and will tell his team-mates exactly what he needs to in order to make them better and is always seen shouting at them on the pitch. Xhaka has the experience of leading his national side as well, so that should play right into his hands.

Note, we are not comparing their ability here, but he and Vieira are very similar in a positional sense and in regards to their ability to read the game. The Swiss star, who is valued at £40.5million by Transfermarkt, can sit in front of the defence or play slightly further up, putting him in a position of the field where his whole team will be able to hear what he has to say. He also appears to have matured as the years have gone by, although his aggression can let him down at times, which would make him better suited to the role than perhaps others could be.

According to Squawka, Xhaka had some of the better stats in the side with his all-around play as he made the most successful passes (1916) and had the most touches of the ball (2784), whilst he also shone with his defensive duties when required – he was third in the whole squad for making tackles (52) and interceptions (36).

Admittedly, he is error-prone and does have a bit of a hot-head at times, however, with the options that Emery currently has at his disposal, perhaps there are not many better than Xhaka at the club at the present moment.

Arsenal fans, do you think Xhaka could be the next main captain for the club? Let us know your thoughts below!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

With Jack Clarke looking like finally making his long-awaited move to Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United may well start spending this summer.

The Whites are apparently set to receive an initial £8.5m for the 18-year-old, but more than £1m of that could be going to Manchester City as the Championship side look to loan Jack Harrison again.

What’s the story?

According to Football Insider, the Yorkshire club have made a loan offer for the winger that includes a fee of over £1m. It is unknown what the exact figure is or how much of Harrison’s reported £51,000-a-week wages Leeds would be paying.

The wide man spent last season out on loan at Elland Road, and it has been widely reported that Marcelo Bielsa is keen on bringing him back for 2019/20.

Can’t waste Clarke fee

Leeds may be getting less than they wanted for their teenage sensation, but they can’t afford to waste a single penny of it.

The Yorkshire side have previously been unable to splash the cash due to their reported sell before they buy policy, but they would be foolish to use this money on loan fees as this report suggests.

Spending over £1m on loaning Harrison for a season would be an example of wastefulness – after all, the 22-year-old wasn’t that good last season. Four goals and three assists in 2018/19 shows that he didn’t have that great of an impact at Elland Road during his first temporary spell.

Bringing Harrison back may not be a bad move, but parting ways with over £1m for a season of his services doesn’t show good value for money.

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Leeds have been linked with plenty of loans this summer, but if they’re all going to cost these types of fees it would indicate bad business.

Spending their Clarke windfall on loan fees and wages for those players is a very risky move. If they don’t go up in 2020 then they will be back to square one with less money and without one of their brightest young talents.

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Shkodran Mustafi is still very much away from the office, both physically and mentally, as Arsenal’s coveted defender has shared an Instagram snap with his newborn baby.

Even though the start of July usually signals players getting back into training mode, the German centre-back is taking a bit longer to jump into the grind again.

But of course, whenever he posts something on his social media accounts, his teammates are prowling nearby to banter him for whatever reason. And no one is quite as good at that as Alexandre Lacazette.

The French Gunner has been following Mustafi’s Instagram activity pretty closely as of late and is always around to post a reply or two. And Lacazette has once again bantered Mustafi for his six-pack, perhaps noticing that the German certainly seems to enjoy sharing pictures of his physique at the moment.

Lacazette clearly doesn’t believe his centre-back is capable of earning his abs, as he pondered if Danny Welbeck had lent his incredible physical condition to the former World Cup winner. Given how much the Gunners faithful love Lacazette and hate Mustafi, his banter is sure to go down well with some fans.

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Mustafi played a total of 31 games in the 2018/19 Premier League season and managed to score two goals.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to talkSPORT, former England manager Sam Allardyce has urged Manchester United to sort out the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba sooner rather than later.

What did he say?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested both the Belgian and the Frenchman have been angling for a move away from Old Trafford this summer, but there has appeared to be very little movement in either case.

Following comments from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that the Red Devils were in no need to sell players this summer, Allardyce has claimed that the Norwegian needs to take control of the situation well before the end of the transfer window.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

He said: “Ole has to go to the owners and say, ‘yes he’s definetely one we want to keep’, or, ‘no it would be better for us all at Manchester United if you get the money for him and spend it elsewhere’.

“But they’re running out of time. Don’t forget, our window shuts on August 8 whereas in Europe it doesn’t – it’s daft. Once it shuts on August 8, it’s shut. January is a long way off and your position can be in jeopardy almost straight away if you pick up a couple of really serious injuries to your top players in your first month.”

Quicker the decision, the better

The biggest fear for United, or any side for that matter, is losing one of your star players right before the transfer window deadline and ultimately having no time to replace them. It brings about unnecessary and totally avoidable chaos and the consequences of such decision-making can be huge.

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In keeping a hold of two reported want-away stars like Pogba and Lukaku, United are playing a very dangerous game. The duo – for all their criticisms – have been amongst the side’s most high-profile performers and losing either of them would be a huge blow. But, quite crucially, they are replaceable.

The Red Devils have been linked with a number of players in recent weeks, but have almost had their hands tied by the uncertainty over Pogba and Lukaku’s futures. Why spend big-money on Sergej Milinkovic-Savic when you already have Pogba? It is why Allardyce is right in urging the club to sort the mess out as soon as possible so that United can plan ahead, either with them or without them.

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After 677 games, 187 goals and countless brilliant celebrations, the legendary Peter Crouch has called it a day.

The 38-year-old centre-forward, standing at a whopping 6 foot 7, has taken to social media to officially confirm this rather sad news for the footballing world.

But what a career he has had.

468 Premier League appearances to his name with 108 goals scored in the competition, Crouch represented seven clubs in the top flight and managed 28 assists in the league as well.

Still, his Liverpool gig is definitely one of the highlights of his career as the coveted Englishman spent three glorious years at Anfield, scoring 42 goals, winning the FA Cup in 2006 and reaching the Champions League final in 2007.

So it was only right for Steven Gerrard, a legend of the Reds, to post a heartfelt message to his former teammate on

/Bz0MqRrBUrl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram.

Crouch’s last campaign in the Premier League was with Burnley, as the forward’s last ever season ended with 32 appearances, two goals and an assist.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

In West Brom’s opening pre-season game against Villarreal last weekend, Slaven Bilic resorted to playing Oliver Burke in attack.

Albion started the game with two up top and after the match, the Croatian revealed that was the sort of system he was hoping to play more often.

It’s alarming, therefore, that at the moment Hal Robson-Kanu and new signing Kenneth Zohore –  whose scoring record in English football isn’t exactly outstanding – are their only natural strikers currently in the first team.

Dwight Gayle, of course, won’t return following his loan spell whilst Jay Rodriguez has gone back to Burnley.

As a result, the Baggies are left staring down the barrel of a distinct lack of goals heading into the new campaign.

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One striker who has been linked with the club is Neal Maupay, although Express & Star suggest West Brom are behind clubs in the Premier League in the race for his signature.

The Brentford man was in electrifying form in the Championship last term, finishing with 25 league goals to his name.

Coincidentally, that was one goal more than Gayle managed under Darren Moore and Jimmy Shan in 2018/19.

Gayle was one of the ring leaders in their pursuit of promotion, scoring on a regular basis as he helped them to a play-off place.

Yet, would Maupay actually make a good replacement? It’s hard to deny he wouldn’t be a good signing. After all, the 22-year-old contributed to 33 strikes in 43 outings.

However, as far as finding the net goes, he actually requires far more attempts on goal for him to beat the goalkeeper, something that could be seen as somewhat of a negative.

The Frenchman only found the net on one more occasion than Gayle despite having 3.3 shots per game and making three more appearances.

The former Albion loanee had 2.4 shots per game and although that perhaps shows he doesn’t get into strong positions as much, it demonstrates that he’s far more clinical when he does actually get a chance.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

On that evidence, one could argue that Maupay would struggle to score as many goals, particularly without the service of Said Benrahma.

He was a player who registered 14 assists for the Bees last term, whereas no West Brom man achieved more than seven.

Therefore, if Maupay needs more chances to score, it’s unlikely he’ll get that at the Hawthorns and as such, could struggle to replicate the form he produced at Brentford.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Mirror, Manchester United have no interest in making a double swoop for Sporting CP’s Bruno Fernandes and Lille’s Nicolas Pepe this summer amid speculation of potential moves for the pair.

What’s the word?

The report claims that the Red Devils feel clubs have used the side’s desire to strengthen their squad this summer as a way of hiking up the prices of players they want to sell.

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It adds that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are not interested in either Fernandes or Pepe and that the constant rumours surrounding the duo potentially joining United has begun to “irritate” the Red Devils.

A public battle

One of the biggest issues that his blighted United’s summer transfer window this summer has simply been that every club in Europe is aware of the Manchester side’s desire to sign players. It puts the Red Devils at a distinct disadvantage as selling clubs know that the club are desperate for new signings and know they can use that to their own benefit.

The Daily Mirror’s claim that there is a suspicion amongst the club hierarchy’s that agents and clubs are trying to use speculation to increase the asking price of players certainly feels like it has a lot of weight to it. United have been linked with what feels like every player on the planet, and yet they have only managed to sign two this summer.

Fernandes and Pepe are fine footballers, but are they the kind of signings that United feel is a priority? The moves for Harry Maguire and Sean Longstaff feel more in line with the supposed thinking at the club to sign young, British players, and a major contrast to the kind of European bidding war you would expect with a swoop for either Fernandes or Pepe.

As the transfer window deadline inches ever closer, The Daily Mirror’s report certainly raises the need to take rumours with a pinch of salt and a touch of caution.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Perhaps more damning than any other statement, Manchester United’s continued desire to reminisce over the good old days of Sir Alex Ferguson is a sign of a club refusing to move on. The club’s iconic manager bowed out from Old Trafford six years ago, and there has been very little to shout about since. But if United are to fully move on from the overwhelming shadow of the Scotsman, then they need to fully hit the reset button.

Last season’s travails perfectly encapsulated everything that has engulfed United. The club have been caught in between a rock and a hard place; at one point willing to throw their principles to the side under Jose Mourinho, and then at another point desperately trying to pull it back with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Which is it to be? The indecision behind what the club wants has caused them trouble both on the pitch and off it, and has completely robbed them of any identity.

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Since the days of the great Sir Matt Busby and through the legendary tenure of Sir Alex, the ‘United way’ has been to win, and win with style. Indeed, former Red Devils boss David Moyes admitted: “When you ­become ­Manchester United manager you are expected to win every game. And when you win the game, you are expected to have done it with style. Then when you win, you are expected to have scored plenty of goals as well.”

And that’s perhaps where United have started to go wrong since Ferguson’s exit. The pressure of trying to deliver those expectations. United’s squad doesn’t boast some of the talents of yesteryear like Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs or Eric Cantona. So why should they be judged on the same level? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job has to be to get the best out of his current crop of players, rather than trying to cling on to how United used to play with totally different personnel in a vastly different era.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

If the Norwegian has the strength and belief to create a ‘new’ United way, then the Red Devils can finally escape the vice-like grip of their former glories. And it’s certainly about time they did just that.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Tottenham did very well in the summer transfer window, making a number of shrewd signings to reinforce areas of their team that were in need of bolstering.

Tanguy Ndombele arrived to replace Mouse Dembele’s drive in midfield, whilst Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke were signed to add youthfulness to the wide areas – Giovani Lo Celso will also add goals from midfield.

One area that has arguably got weaker, however, is right-back.

Kieran Tripper was awful last season, but even then, the England international was still ahead of Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters in Mauricio Pochettino’s pecking order.

Following Trippier’s departure to Atletico Madrid however, nobody was signed as a replacement – as a result, Pochettino must rely on the pair who he deemed not good enough to start last term.

The former Southampton boss incidentally opted for Walker-Peters over Aurier in the season opener against Aston Villa, and the academy graduate didn’t disappoint.

The 22-year-old impressed at right-back against the Villans, making a number of solid contributions as he helped his side take maximum points from their first league outing of the campaign.

The 5 foot 8 defender made three tackles and three clearances to keep Dean Smith’s impressive Villa side down to just one goal, which was scored courtesy of a hopeful punt up field.

Walker-Peters also showcased his attacking talents on Saturday evening, drawing three fouls during the 90 minutes whilst also playing one key pass – he also embarked on two dribbles down that right flank.

Aurier reportedly wants to leave, whilst Juan Foyth – who looked set to play at right-back this term – picked up a serious ankle injury in pre-season, making Pochettino’s life even more complicated in terms of his right-back options.

Luckily for the Argentinian boss, he looks able to rely on Walker-Peters for dependable performances at right-back, and the youngster may have solved a major headache for his boss with his fine showing against Villa.

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With the arrivals of David Luiz and Kieran Tierney, Alex Iwobi’s transfer to Everton fell slightly by the wayside on deadline day.

The Nigeria international had spent his entire career with the Gunners, scoring 15 goals in 127 appearances. During his time at the Emirates Stadium, he won one FA Cup and two Community Shields.

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However, although he was never a guaranteed starter and a large chunk of Arsenal fans initially wanted the club to take the money and run, some Gunners followers believe he should have stayed at the Emirates, suggesting that Henrikh Mkhitaryan would have been the better option to move on.

The two had similar seasons in terms of stats last campaign, but Iwobi was actually slightly better from a statistical point of view. He scored six goals and created nine, whilst the 83-cap Armenia international netted the same amount but provided just seven.

Mkhitaryan is 30 years old, which means not only will his re-sale value continue to decrease, but he also does not represent the long-term future of the club. Iwobi, meanwhile, is just 23, and therefore has plenty of years in front of him to develop.

Gunners supporters have been vocal on Twitter, and have shared their thoughts about the decision. You can check out some of the best comments below.

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