Unai Emery unveils new plan for the Arsenal captaincy

Matt Stead

Unai Emery will name as many as five Arsenal captains this season as he continues to run the rule over his new players.

The 43-year-old was appointed as head coach following Arsene Wenger’s departure in May and has been back in pre-season training for almost two weeks.

Who will lead the Gunners on the pitch is just one of many questions Emery faced as he met the media at the club’s training ground on Thursday afternoon.

While he admits he needs to get to know his players better, he wants to have a host of players ready to step in as captain.

“We’ve spoken about that,” he said.

“My idea is to know every player and to know, also, the personality of the players. And then, I think my first idea is to have five captains in the team. But at the moment, I don’t know the names.”

Emery did confirm that current skipper Laurent Koscielny is set to keep the armband for the time being.

“I need to know more and also, firstly, Koscielny is the first captain now and for me,” he said.

“I have respect for that. Then, we are looking at, looking for, who are the players whose personality is the best in the dressing room.

“We want to keep the respect for these players and to find the captain and choose very well the best player for that.

“The first two weeks for us is to start knowing the club, knowing the players, knowing all the people who are working with us.”