Even though Arteta spent most of his time as a captain on the bench, it will be tough to replace him. Unfortunately, since Henry, it`s hard to say the Gunners had a true leader. Fabregas was given this honor not only because he deserved it but also because he was the most solid player at that time. Van Persie spent one year as team captain before abandoning ship and Vermaelen spent his 2^nd year as a captain on the bench before begging to join Barcelona. It is true that Arteta is probably most dedicated to the club out of the above mentioned but his lack of game time had an impact on his authority. Injuries also prevented him from spending a whole season next to his teammates which made it even harder to see him as their leader. Sure, his spirit is in the right place, but circumstances denied him of the chance of being a great captain which I’m sure he would have been.

According to the Daily Express, Arteta will only say goodbye to the Emirates though, not to football. If rumors are true, he could be joining the Citizens, thus becoming the 7^th Arsenal player to move to Manchester City since 2009. Despite that, it`s hard to believe that seeing him join any of Arsenal’s rivals will have the same impact projected onto fans by players like Nasri, Adebayor, Kolo Toure and the others. There’s also talks regarding a move to Tottenham but it’s unlikely that the Spurs would want Arteta mostly because their oldest two players are 28 and 29 without taking into consideration the substitute keeper who is 32. Other than that, Pochettino’s side has an incredible age average of about 23-24.

The biggest problem for Arsenal right now is finding a replacement for Arteta. It`s been said that the lack of leadership on the pitch is one of the reasons Arsenal cave under pressure throughout a season. It`s not just the Gunners who are facing this issue, as finding a leader these days is trickier than usual. Fortunately, Wenger’s concern might not be finding the right personality, but finding someone who is always there. There are players who can really lead the Londoners but will they be available the entire season? Wilshere and Ramsey come to mind. Both have the ability to lead but spent a lot of time in the infirmary during the past few seasons. Koscielny and Mertesacker who took the arm band from Arteta while he was out are also fit for captain but seem a bit too quiet at times. There are two players who would be perfect for this role though: Petr Cech or Alexis Sanchez. The downside is that the keeper spent so much time at Chelsea that it might be a bit awkward for him to convince fans his Blues days are passed him. The downside when it comes to Sanchez is that he looks too focused on himself at times and that he does not seem to have embraced the Arsenal spirit yet. Not entirely at least. A future captain should not be linked to a transfer as Sanchez is being linked for the past couple of months. Honestly I would go with Cech or Mertesacker but who knows what Wenger’s plans are.