The last 20 captains of Arsenal

Kelly is an interesting name to start with. When he was named captain in 1975, he was only 23. The presumption was that Kelly was the future of the Gunners, and that he would be in that role for years to come. However, heavy is the arm that wears the armband. During the 1975-76 season things began to fall apart for Kelly. He lost the captaincy, and even left Arsenal after that season for QPR. The midfielder played until 1986, but was never quite the same.

When Kelly didn’t work out, Arsenal went back to the guy who was its previous captain. A member of England’s iconic 1966 World Cup team, Ball had served as captain during the 1974-75 season, and then took on the role during the 1975-76 season as well. Like Kelly, though, Ball would leave Arsenal after the 1975-76 season, moving to Southampton. Ball became a fixture as a manager in England in the ‘80s and ‘90s, including a stint as a player-manager for Blackpool.

Rice’s captaincy had some legs for Arsenal. The Gunners, after all the chaos of going back-and-forth between Ball and Kelly, gave the role to a guy who had been a staple in the lineup. Rice, a right back, made 397 appearances for Arsenal in his career. He was captain from 1976 through 1980, when he left the club for Watford. Installed as captain, Rice helped get Watford promoted to the First Division, then the top league in England, before retiring in 1984.

O’Leary is considered the first Arsenal captain not from the United Kingdom (he played internationally for Ireland, though Rice is from Belfast, but let’s not get into that). The centre back played forever, as centre backs often do, and the bulk of his playing career was spent as a Gunner. O’Leary made a whopping 558 league appearances for Arsenal, and 722 total, a club record. He was captain from 1980 through 1983, which is interesting given that he played for the club until 1993.

Rix, a midfielder, took over from O’Leary. It’s not like he was some fresh face, as he and O’Leary joined the club at the same time, and both went through the youth system for Arsenal. Rix got a few caps for England between 1980 and 1984, and he served as Arsenal’s captain from 1983 through 1986. An Achilles injury helped complicate things for Rix at the club, and Arsenal would move on from him in 1988.

George Graham took over as Arsenal’s manager prior to the 1986-87 season. The former Millwall headman took a shine to Sansom, a left back who had already made hundreds of appearances for Arsenal. Graham named Sansom his first captain at Arsenal. Their relationship was good for all of one season. Sansom was captain for the 1986-87 season, and that was it. He’d be gone from the club after the 1987-88 season, but played around England for a while thereafter.

Who did Graham hand the captain’s role to? That would be Adams, a centre back. He was all of 21 at the time, but this would not be another Eddie Kelly situation. Adams would hold the role of Arsenal’s captain until his retirement in 2002. The Gunners were the only club he ever played for. His 14 years as captain is a club record that is highly unlikely to ever be bested. During his career, Adams also served as captain of England for a period. When you think of leaders in football, Adams is one of the first names you think of.

Replacing a club legend is tough. Adams was so entrenched in the role of captain at Arsenal that even Arsene Wenger did not dare to rock the boat! When Adams retired, Wenger got to name his first new captain. Fortunately for him, he had one of the best players of his generation around. Vieira, a French midfielder with few peers at the time, became Arsenal’s first captain from the European mainland. He served as captain from 2002 through 2005, which means he captained the iconic “Invincibles” team in 2003-04. Vieira ceded the role when he left the club for Juventus.

The captaincy of Arsenal was handed from a legendary French midfielder to…a legendary French striker. Strikers are often overlooked for the captain’s role, but not Henry. That’s what happens when you are as good as anybody at putting the ball in the net, and also are an established veteran on your club. In Henry’s first season as captain he tallied 27 goals, but the next year missed time with injury. That would be the end of Henry’s time with the club, as he headed to Barcelona where he had a couple solid years before his form fell.

Three French captains in a row? It’s almost like the manager of the club was French or something. Gallas was not a longtime Arsenal man like his fellow French footballers, though. In fact, the defender spent more of his career with Chelsea than with Arsenal. During his four-season run with Arsenal, Gallas was named captain, but it was not a great fit. He had the role for 2007-08, but that was it, even though he was on the team for two more seasons.

Ah, so Wenger was willing to name a guy not from Gaul captain! Fabregas, though Spanish nationally, began his club career with Arsenal, and had been a regular in the lineup since the 2004-05 season. A reliable centre midfielder, he made 110 appearances for Spain during the country’s heyday for a reason, was captain from 2008 through 2011. The Catalan would then spend a few seasons with Barcelona, ending his tenure with Arsenal, though would return to England to play for Chelsea for several years.

Fabregas technically did not transfer to Barcelona until the 2011-12 season had begun, but Wenger knew he was going to be losing his captain, so he named van Persie into the role. It worked out well, optically speaking. The Dutch striker went out and had a career year, notching 30 Premier League goals as captain. Then, um, he immediately left for Manchester United that offseason.

When all else fails, name a reliable, veteran centre back your captain. With van Persie leaving for a rival, Vermaelen was named the new captain. The Belgian defender had rebounded nicely from an Achilles injury the season prior to ascending into the role, even picking up six Premier League goals. He had one solid season as captain, but then was limited in 2013-14. Vermaelen then left for Barcelona, but he never had a healthy season again until the end of his career when he was playing in, of all places, the Japanese league.

Arteta was a good player, but not remarkable. Notably, he never made an appearance for the Spanish national team after the U21 level. Even as captain of Arsenal, a role he held from 2014 through his retirement in 2016, Arteta was not a regular in the lineup. Perhaps what was identified in him was leadership skills. That would track. After all, you now know Arteta as the manager of Arsenal.

Wenger absolutely adored Mertesacker, a German centre back who was as steady as they come on the back line, and the two rode out into the sunset together. Mertesacker barely played in his two seasons as captain. The club literally announced before the 2017-18 season that Mertesacker was going to retire at the end of the season and become the head of the Arsenal Academy, a role he still holds. Additionally, 2017-18 would prove to be Wenger’s last as a manager. Two legends retiring at the same time.

Unai Emery, who seemed like a coup of a managerial signing at the time, succeeded Wenger. With Mertesacker retired, Emery figured, “Well, why not go with another veteran centre back?” Enter Koscielny, who had been a regular in the Arsenal lineup since the 2011-11 season. Unfortunately, the appointment proved ill-conceived with the benefit of hindsight. The summer after the 2018-19 season, Koscielny skipped Arsenal’s tour of America to push for a move to Bordeaux, which was successful.

Xhaka is a fine player, and he picked up 225 Premier League appearances with Arsenal (and over 100 with Switzerland) for a reason. Having said that, naming a walking yellow card waiting to happen your captain is perhaps an odd choice. Indeed, Xhaka lasted all of six weeks as captain. It wasn’t because of a confrontation he got into with an opposing player, but with Arsenal’s own fans. Gestures and vulgarities were involved, and Emery moved to take the armband away from Xhaka.

One of the last things Emery would do as manager of Arsenal (he would be fired early in the 2019-20 season) is name Aubameyang as captain to take over from Xhaka. The striker was coming off sharing the Golden Boot in the 2018-19 campaign. Aubameyang would last through a caretaker manager and into the tenure of Arteta. During the 2021-22 season, though, Arteta would in turn take the captaincy away from Aubameyang, who would then be transferred to Barcelona during the winter window. He did make history as the club’s first non-European captain, though!

Lacazette would take the captaincy from his fellow striker (and former teammate) to finish out the 2021-22 campaign. A fine secondary option at the position for the club, Lacazette never produced like he did in France for Lyon, though that is admittedly a less-formidable league. Perhaps longing for home, or for goals, Lacazette would return to Lyon after the 2021-22 season, once again leaving Arsenal looking for a captain. He would also score 27 goals in 35 games in his first year back with Lyon, so, you know, mission accomplished.

Will Odegaard bring stability to the role of captain at Arsenal? The club did bring stability to the Norwegian midfielder. When Real Madrid signed him and debuted him at the age of 16, he was burdened with a ton of expectations. Madrid would then proceed to loan him out year after year, and he never found a regular role for the club. Arsenal was the last of those loan deals, and then the club signed him up outright. Odegaard has rewarded the Gunners with steady, reliable play, and he’s still only 25. In theory, he could be captain for years on end. Of course, if you aren’t Tony Adams, that is truly just a theory with this club.