#2 Per Mertesacker – Arsenal
Arsenal have not had a permanent inspirational captain on the pitch for quite some time and the trend has continued into the 2016/17 season. A knee injury ruled him out for a few months and prompted Arsene Wenger to sign Shkodran Mustafi as a replacement.
Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta suffered similar fates; sidelined due to recurring injuries and having to hand over the captain’s armband to the vice-captain. Laurent Koscielny has stepped in and done a fabulous job as captain while forming a very effective partnership with Mustafi.
This leaves Mertesacker in limbo. The German defender will be 33 next season and Wenger usually gives only one-year contracts to outfield players over 30. If he cannot return to his best this season, the French boss may well look to move him on and replace him with a younger and more mobile defender.
