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Paul Merson Claims David Luiz 'Has To Be' Arsenal Captain

Paul Merson Claims David Luiz 'Has To Be' Arsenal Captain

The new signing has come in for a lot of criticism but the former Arsenal forward believes that Luiz should be wearing the armband.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson thinks David Luiz is a 'born winner' and should be captain even if he often gives '2/10' rate performances on the pitch.

Fixing a leaky defence with David Luiz is like fixing a leaky pipe with blue tack, it'll do a job but there's a good chance it'll fail more often than not. That's exactly what Arsenal did by signing the Brazilian in the summer.

He's already had a few of those difficult days, especially at Watford in the 2-2 draw on September 15th, but Soccer Saturday studio dweller Merson believes the former Chelsea man is the perfect captain, saying, "The worrying thing for me is I heard the manager say he's going to have five captains, which tells me he has no idea what his team is," Merson told The Debate.

"Unai Emery's been there a year-and-a-half, he's got to have five captains because he doesn't have a clue what his best team is. He hasn't got a clue. The good teams are the ones who play virtually the same team every week, but with Arsenal you don't know who it'll be from week to week.

"David Luiz has got to be captain, he's a serial winner. People have a go at him because one week he'll be a 2/10 and the next a 9/10, but he's going to play every week."

Certainly Luiz's performance haven't been as bad as the man currently wearing the armband, Granit Xhaka. The midfielder was booed off the pitch during the 3-2 win against Aston Villa last weekend.

Speaking after the match Unai Emery defended the midfielder, saying, "My opinion is we need our supporters and we need our supporters helping each player but our responsibility is to transmit our capacity, our spirit, our commitment and behaviour. And Xhaka is doing that."

Should Luiz be captain? Image: PA Images
Should Luiz be captain? Image: PA Images

Despite 'Merse' wanting Xhaka to lose the captaincy he still wasn't happy with the booing, saying, "I had a bit of a go at Xhaka the other week, but I don't like fans booing their players.

"It's not right and it's not Arsenal. You've got to have a bit more class than that. He's never stopped trying and even though I had a go at him, you can't be booing your own players."

Xhaka's had a tough start to the season. Image: PA Images
Xhaka's had a tough start to the season. Image: PA Images

The Sky Sports pundit does have one other suggestion captain for the Gunners, suggesting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could do the job, mainly because he's always on the pitch, saying, "I'm not the greatest lover of a forward being the captain, but [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang's another one. Those front three should pick themselves straight away and you go from there - they'll play every week, if they're fit."

What's the answer for Emery?

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Topics: Football News, Chelsea, Unai Emery, Paul Merson, david luiz, Granit Xhaka, Premier League, Sky Sports, Arsenal