Five-man Arsenal captain's group picked by Emery and where they all are now
Unai Emery comes up against old club Arsenal again on Saturday with the memories and remnants of his indifferent tenure in charge fading with each passing season.
Since the Spaniard's departure in November 2019, Mikel Arteta has turned the Gunners into title chasers following a severe overhaul of the club's playing staff and more. Among the factors to have all but bitten the dust includes the much-maligned 'leadership group' which Emery swore by rather than relying on a single captain.
Arteta has in some way kept that link slightly in tact, albeit with Martin Odegaard the permanently appointed skipper and Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka deemed as the two Arsenal stars who would fulfil the captain's duties in the event of his absence.
But whatever happened to Emery's original five-man group of leaders?
"I want leaders in the team, every player at every time to have the capacity to show leadership," Emery said when announcing a replacement for Per Mertesacker following his appointment as Arsenal manager in 2018. "But these are the five players who have a possibility to be the captain.”
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Mirror Football takes a look at where they are now...
Laurent Koscielny
Laurent Koscielny retired after a bitter exit from Bordeaux last year (AFP via Getty Images)The man who was handed the armband, Koscielny performed admirably in the role and was regarded highly among the Arsenal fanbase... until his departure.
Not that anyone was too bothered the then-33-year-old was leaving, more the way he announced it - by tearing off an Arsenal shirt to reveal a Bordeaux one underneath, shortly after refusing to go on a pre-season tour to America. He was slammed as "disrespectful" by Arsenal legends and later apologised for "causing a stir" with the shirt stunt.
Yet that was nothing compared with what was to come. Having taken on the captain's role at his new club, Koscielny was later stripped of the armband and frozen out of first-team affairs in January last year following some questionable performances, even though he only made 11 that season due to injuries.
He then retired abruptly two months later after denying allegations of racism made by the club's ultras. It was a sour end for the defender, who admitted over his exit: "I have taken it badly. It was a right slap in the face.”
Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey is now on the books of French Ligue 1 club Nice (Matthieu Mirville/DPPI/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking of sour exits, the departure of Ramsey was one that hit hard for Arsenal fans after the club allowed his contract to run down, before Juventus swooped in to snap him up as a free agent.
Despite reports suggesting Ramsey had snubbed a new deal in north London, the midfielder has since claimed he verbally agreed to an extension before Arsenal withdrew their offer.
You could hardly blame Ramsey for jumping ship anyway, given the reported £400,000-per-week he was receiving in Turin and another crack at Champions League football - though things didn't quite work out.
Ramsey's turbulent spell ended so badly Juventus ripped up his contract a year early and announced the news in a brief 13-word statement. His final six months had already been spent on loan at Rangers, where he struggled to make any meaningful impact.
Now plying his trade at French club Nice, the 32-year-old has made 22 appearances this season as well as featuring for Wales at the recent World Cup.
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Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil is now playing for Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)While Ramsey's contract situation was a cause of frustration, it was nothing on the £350,000-per-week deal which Ozil was cashing in as Arsenal's top earner.
The playmaker failed to ever hit the heights again during Emery's reign and was eventually cast out by Arteta following the termination of his deal six months early.
That allowed Ozil to join Fenerbahce as a free agent but his time there was ended almost equally as turbulent. Ozil was suspended by the club little over a year into his time there after having a verbal altercation with manager Ismail Kartal.
He didn't play again for Fenerbahce as his contract was terminated at the end of the season, when he moved to Istanbul Basaksehir. Injuries have limited him to just six appearances this season amid reports he is considering his retirement.
Ozil owns his own Esports company and his agent has previously suggested the World Cup winner could become an Esports athlete when his playing days are over.
Petr Cech
Petr Cech in action for former side Guildford Phoenix after turning to ice hockey following retirement (Getty Images)From keeping net between the sticks to... well, keeping net between the sticks. Not much has changed in theory for goalkeeper Petr Cech, other than he is now living his dream playing ice hockey for Chelmsford Chieftains in the NIHL South Division One.
Cech, 40, is so taken with his new environment, he even claimed he was having more fun on the ice rink than he was playing in the Premier League and Champions League for Chelsea and Arsenal.
He told the Daily Mail : "I love football but I felt [as a child] being an ice hockey goalie was more fun. As a family we couldn't afford to buy all the equipment so my dad took me to football. In the end, football won."
Cech was recently working as a sporting director at Chelsea prior to Todd Boehly's takeover, after which he stepped down following the sanctions placed on previous owner Roman Abramovich.
Granit Xhaka
Granit Xhaka reacted to the booing Arsenal fans in 2019 but has turned his situation aroundWhat a journey the Swiss midfielder has been on.
To see him still apart of the leadership group would have been almost unthinkable after his public on-field outburst at Arsenal fans after being booed off during their clash with Crystal Palace in October 2019.
Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy by Emery and was desperate to leave the club after the episode, but a move elsewhere never materialised due to a U-turn after showdown talks with Arteta the following January.
Xhaka revealed to the Players Tribune in April 2022: "My heart was telling me, You can't leave this football club like this. Mikel and I didn't speak about my future again, because after six months I was happy.
"Today I know I made the right decision, absolutely, because I'm still here but I can't pretend that my relationship with the fans will ever be the same, because that moment will always be in my heart.
"It's like broken glass, you know? You can piece it together, but the cracks will always be there. I would like us to have a better relationship. I would like us to understand each other better."
Xhaka has become an important player for Arsenal this season as they chase the title and his relationship with fans appears to be repairing. Arteta said: "He’s made some mistakes and he’s learnt from it, but he has always faced adversity and difficulty and he’s never run away from it.
"This is what all managers wants from their players. You know you can count on him, he will fight and break walls for you. This is what we expect from our players."
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