Arsenal's top 5 captain contenders - and hints Mikel Arteta has already dropped

In recent years, Arsenal have not had much luck when it comes to their captain.

Whether it be Laurent Koscielny leaving the club under the most acrimonious of circumstances after refusing to attend the pre-season tour of the United States, or Granit Xhaka throwing the shirt to the floor as he was subbed off - things tend to end badly when given the Gunners armband.

The latest chapter has proved to be no different after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang upped sticks to Barcelona after falling out with manager Mikel Arteta.

The Gabon international was exiled from the first-team fold and stripped of the captaincy following what was described as his 'latest disciplinary breach' in early December.

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Arsenal are still without a permanent captain, though Aubameyang's former partner Alexandre Lacazette has been handed the armband for the remainder of the season.

Given Lacazette's likely departure come the end of the current campaign, Arteta will be analysing members of his squad to see who has the captaincy credentials and qualities.

Mirror Football has analysed five players Arteta could opt for when it comes to deciding his next skipper.

Martin Odegaard

Arguably the current favourite, the mercurial midfield playmaker is quite clearly Arsenal's tactic leader on the pitch.

The 23-year-old has gone from strength to strength in recent weeks and has clearly thrived under the new responsibility placed on his shoulders.

There have been multiple times this season where Arteta or a member of his coaching staff have been keen to relay some kind of instruction to the players on the pitch and Odegaard is almost always the player they choose to spread that message.

He already has experience when it comes to leading a side after he was named the captain of Norway last year.

Arteta has discussed the former Real Madrid man's qualities and hinted he has what it takes to don the armband for Arsenal.

"The way he lives his profession, the way he likes to play football and everything he does is to become better," he explained.

"He has still a big margin. He wants it probably more than anyone else on that pitch, every single day. He will be top, top."

Asked whether he could be the new skipper, Arteta replied: "He certainly has all the qualities to do that, absolutely.

"Talking to his national team coach and how highly they speak of him. He walks through the corridor and everybody loves him.

"He is such a nice, humble guy and he leads with the way he is. It is very natural for him and that will come."

Kieran Tierney

The Scotland international is the preferred candidate in the eyes of much of the Arsenal faithful given his popularity within the fanbase.

The non-nonsense, technically gifted left-back is one of the first names on Arteta's team sheet when fit, though he has seen a lot of his Gunners career stalled by various injuries.

Always displaying the kind of passion and leadership any manager would want from their captain, Tierney would be another young skipper considering he is still only 24.

Much like Odegaard, Tierney has sufficient experience of being a captain and donned the armband a number of times during his illustrious Celtic career.

Eyebrows were raised after the recent win over Brentford when Tierney finished the game with the armband, something Arteta appeared to share a joke with the Scotsman about.

Gabriel Magalhaes

Though the Brazilian made a rare glaring mistake in Arsenal's most recent outing at home to Wolves, Gabriel has arguably been the Gunners' most consistent performer.

Purchased from Lille before the start of last season for just £23m, Gabriel has proved to be one of the best value-for-money signings Arsenal have made in recent years.

The centre-back is not as commonly touted for the captaincy role due to communication issues.

Gabriel's grasp of English is currently not as strong as it could be and that may deter Arteta from giving him the armband.

However, he has struck up a formidable partnership with partner Ben White who has previously insisted the language barrier is not an issue.

Aaron Ramsdale

Signed amid a wave of backlash from angry Arsenal fans questioning why they had spent £24m plus add-ons on a goalkeeper of Ramsdale's quality - he has comfortably silenced his critics.

He is undoubtedly the most popular of the six signings made by the club in the last summer transfer window.

Ramsdale's leadership quality is there for all to see, at just 23 years of age he is constant communication with his backline and commanding players multiple years his senior.

A recent video uploaded to Arsenal's website displayed Ramsdale's reaction to Gabriel's mistake against Wolves that showed all the qualities of a potential captain.

The England international did not moan or get angry and instead opted to immediately encourage the central defender, urging him to put the error behind him and regain his composure.

Ben White

In a similar vein to Ramsdale, many fans questioned the staggering transfer fee the Gunners were willing to part ways with to entice White to the Emirates.

After a shaky debut that did little to deter the voices of discontent, White has established himself as a mainstay in Arsenal's backline.

His technical prowess has offered the Gunners an entirely new method of playing out from the back and building attacks.

While he may not be the obvious choice for the vacant captaincy role, White's ability to lead by example and rally those around him will undoubtedly work in his favour when the times comes for Arteta to decide.