Fabregas waits in the wings after Gallas is dismissed
This week Arsene Wenger named Cesc Fabregas as his new captain at Arsenal, and it is hard to see a better man for the job right now. In the summer, in my opinion, Wenger lost his two best natural leaders, in Gilberto and yes, Mathieu Flamini. This season it has to be noted that there is a lack of leadership in the midfield and no matter how good Fabregas is, last season that leader was Flamini. Unfortunately for Wenger, money appeared more attractive to Flamini than loyalty to a club that has made his career, something that can be said of Arsenal in many cases, Ashley Cole to name but another, and the Gunners boss, whether through want of trying or not, failed to find a suitable replacement.
Wenger said on Sunday before choosing his captain, "I don't believe too much in leadership. I believe more in good passing than a guy who jumps around with his hands in the air and plays the leader". In this case, i have to say i disagree with him, which is not something that happens often. When you look at previous Arsenal captains such as Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, you would always see them shouting and waving their arms about to instruct the team. Adams by the way, as an interesting fact was 21, the same age as Fabregas when he first captained Arsenal. Good omen for the future perhaps?
Apart from Fabregas, it is hard to see another stand-out candidate. Obviously Kolo Toure is experienced, knows the club and in the past has been one of the best defenders in the league, however, in the last two seasons, he has been nowhere near the Toure of old and has been rather injury-prone. It is almost impossible for Wenger to make someone who will more than likely be out for half the season the club captain. The same goes for Robin van Persie. I believe that if Tomas Rosicky hadn't picked up the injury when he did and had made as big an impact as i think he would have done last season, i think he would have been a strong candidate for the role. He is more of a natural leader, as well as having captained his country many times in the past. Manuel Almunia has looked shaky recently and i have never agreed with a goalkeeper being captain as it is virtually impossible to lead a team from the penalty area. Other than those it is hard to find any other possibilities which is why i believe Wenger has made the right decision with what he's got.
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