Robin van Persie is the current vice-captain and the most likely candidate for the captaincy next season (if Cesc leaves). As much as I think that RvP deserves the captaincy for his performances on the pitch towards the end of last season, I am currently unsure as to whether he would be the best choice to lead the team. In my opinion we need a captain who can lead from the back and shore up our defence. However, the most important thing is to have a captain who loves playing for the club.

To some extent it could be argued that Arsène Wenger gave the captaincy to Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas because he was worried that they would leave, rather than because they were the players who were best suited to the role. It cannot be denied that Henry (despite being one of the best players the club has ever seen) was not our greatest captain. Gallas had a bad attitude, and Cesc has come under some criticism in recent months.

As far as I am concerned, Gilberto Silva was a better captain for the club than the three that I’ve previously mentioned, in terms of fulfilling the role. Van Persie is (like Gilberto was) completely committed to the club and always seems to have a good attitude. However, the fact the he is injury-prone could hugely influence Wenger’s decision.

With Cesc Fabregas rested and Manuel Almunia injured, RvP first captained the club in the 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle on the 3rd January 2009. Arsène Wenger then explained the reasons for choosing van Persie to wear the captain’s armband:

“I made him captain to show I believe in his leadership. When you speak to the other players, they tell you he cares. And when you get a vibe from the dressing room, you listen. Every man in the squad would say he cares about the team. And, once you have that, you have the seed from which a leader is made.”

What I find most interesting is that van Persie is known for being influential in the dressing-room, especially at half time. Only in April, the media reported that he had had an argument with Abou Diaby at the midfielder’s lack of discipline in our game against Blackpool. Diaby got an yellow card for kicking the ball away and RvP was furious at such an unnecessary booking. Maybe an argument wasn’t the best way to go about it, but at least it shows that he really cares and isn’t afraid to tell the other players when they are clearly doing something wrong.

The chances are that you will see the Dutchman with the yellow armband at some point next season. He has been at the club for 7 years, and it would seem that he has a good relationship with Arsène Wenger and with the rest of the squad. Hopefully he will prove me wrong and show that he can be the leader that we so desperately need.

Van Persie captained Arsenal for the first time in January 2009 (Ronnie Macdonald/Flickr)

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