Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has discussed the role of the leadership group within his squad.
Mikel Arteta has cultivated a first team squad at the Emirates Stadium that takes responsibility for itself. As such, a leadership group has developed within the Arsenal squad.
Aside from club captain Martin Odegaard, the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Magalhaes have worn the armband at times this season.
The Gunners lost two core figures this summer, when Granit Xhaka and Rob Holding left the north London club to join Bayer Leverkusen and Crystal Palace, respectively.
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Nketiah and Gabriel may well have been drafted into the leadership group to replace these departed members. However, other players within Arteta’s squad will surely also be involved. Jorginho, for instance, has a great deal of experience and has been applauded for his leadership qualities before. The midfielder is likely to be amongst those expected to guide the way at Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus was also considered a member of the leadership group last season, as reported by The Athletic.
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Other experienced members of the squad include Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko has previously captained the Ukraine national team.
Mikel Arteta discusses the Arsenal leadership group
Arteta seems somewhat guarded when it comes to sharing overt details of how the leadership group is made up. However, in his most recent press conference, as quoted by the official Arsenal website, the Spanish coach said, “we have many leaders in this squad. We have a captain that is Martin [Odegaard] and so you have seen in the last few games…number two and three.”
“What I’m really interested in is about empowering the qualities that they have as human beings and make sure that the leaders come out. So we don’t really restrict anybody because we have a lot of people that are capable of doing that at the moment.”
Arteta clearly believes any of his players can be considered part of the leadership group, as long they demonstrate the requisite qualities.
Leadership within the squad will be vital for Arsenal at times this season. Having fallen short in their Premier League title push last time out, they will need cool heads and an ability to draw upon previous experiences if they’re to go one better this time around.
Their character as a squad will be tested once again this afternoon. The Gunners are travelling to Goodison Park, where they haven’t beaten Everton in a Premier League fixture since 2017. There is clearly a psychological barrier they must overcome at this ground, and the leadership group may be able to help Arsenal hurdle it today.