Arsene Wenger insists that while holding the title of Arsenal captain doesn’t seem to mean much these days, he has a few leaders at the club.

Wenger insists that Per Mertesacker, Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny are all leaders at Arsenal, despite Per holding the official title.

“We have many leaders,” said the boss, reports Metro.

“The modern life has created maybe a bit less natural leadership because more players are better informed and have a bigger knowledge of the game so everybody contributes.

“It is less centralised on one or two persons. But of course at the moment, I would say Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are the captains with Petr Cech so the natural responsibility goes to them.”

Last season, Per only made two appearances as captain since he was sidelined throughout the campaign after undergoing knee surgery. Therefore, Kos was the stand-in skipper and, despite missing out on the FA Cup final through suspension, held the trophy aloft alongside the German in May.

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 12: Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker talks to manager Arsene Wenger before a training session at the Koraragh Oval on July 12, 2017 in Sydney, New South Wales. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Being captain at Arsenal doesn’t seem to mean much anymore. It’s not like when Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira wore the arm band and commanded respect. Nowadays, if anything, it seems to just be a tool to appease wantaway players, such as Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie. Or at least it was for a period of time.

While Wenger claims there are three main leaders currently at Arsenal, Cech has two years left on his deal so it’s doubtful that he’ll stay for long, and Per is becoming head of the academy at the end of this season. Therefore, Kos is the main long-term solution unless others start stepping up.

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