There’s one problem with getting the players to elect their captain. What happens if the crowd don’t like the selection?

And then there’s another problem too. What happens if the manager decides to substitute the captain, and the captain doesn’t like it? That’s a big problem.

Which leads to a third problem, because this is a story that the bloggers and journalists can write up without having to do any work at all – for when it comes to Arsenal, everyone has a ready made opinion.

Then all those problems merge into one big mess, which is what Arsenal now has: four separate forces pulling the club in different ways: the manager, the team, the crowd and the media.

But fortunately there is one possible solution which doesn’t involve sacking everyone, as Tony Attwood of Untold Arsenal explains.

 
 
Of course the media love the 4 separate forces pulling the club in different directions, because it gives them a never ending story without having to do any research. It’s just opinion, opinion and more opinion. Xhaka out. Emery out.

Maitland-Niles out. Pretty much everyone out. It’s a mess.

While Emery has been quite forthcoming in speaking about his conversations with Xhaka, the player has indicated that he is not ready mentally to return.