Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka was chosen by his team-mates to be the club’s new captain.
Head coach Unai Emery held a blind vote among his squad to decide on his new skipper, with Xhaka winning the vote having worn the armband in six of the first eight games of the campaign.
Emery had a leadership group of five players last year but three of those – Laurent Koscielny, Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey – departed over the course of the summer.
The Spaniard revealed that, for this season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil will be his other captains, in order, should Xhaka not play.
Xhaka, who turned 27 on Friday, finds himself in special company as the Swiss joined 8 other footballers – including Messi – who are captain for 1st division European sides and top 100 national teams –
1. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid & Spain)
2. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur and France)
3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
4. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus and Italy)
5. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
6. Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborgs IF and Sweden)
7. Seamus Coleman (Everton and Republic of Ireland)
8. Emre Belozoglu (Fenerbahce and Turkey)
9. Granit Xhaka (Arsenal and Switzerland)
