I want three to five captains in the team- Unai Emery

With Laurent Koscielny wanting out of the club the race is on take the armband for the Gunners.

Unai Emery's first season in the English Premier League  with Arsenal was full of ups and downs but the Spaniard had designated five senior players in the captaincy group last summer. The group included players like Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka.

However with Ramsey and Cech leaving the club, the former Sevilla manager wants more players to step up for a senior role in the team and be a leader on and off the field. Granit Xhaka who has captained the Gunners last season accompanied Unai Emery at his press conference in Los Angeles.

"We spoke a little about this and last year we had Laurent, Petr Cech and Ramsey," said Unai. "At the moment, Koscielny has a contract with us but I think they are going to speak, the club and him, about whether he continues or not. "We have players with the capacity [to be captains]. One is Granit. Last year also he played so much as a captain, and was like a captain in the dressing room. "We also have Mesut and Nacho, and also other players, they can take this position also. I want from three to five captains in the team."

Laurent Koscielny who has been the club captain has suddenly decided to seek a move away from North London with clubs in France highly interested in the 33-year old. Hence his future is uncertain as he has also not travelled with the other players to the pre-season training camp.

"This matter is for the club and for him. Before this travel, I spoke with him three times about that and he wanted to speak with the club because his first idea is to leave and the moment to leave from the team," Emery said on Koscielny's decision to leave Arsenal. "But when I spoke with him, I wanted him to come with us and also to continue working and speaking with the club about the possibilities that are best for him and the team. He decided to stay in London and now this matter is for him and the club to speak and take the decision."

The North London outfit are currently linked with prodigious French defender William Saliba from Saint Etienne but rivals, Tottenham Hotspur are also in the race to sign the 18-year old centre back. Then Emery is keen to land Celtic's Kieran Tierney this summer. Plus they have also made a offer for Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha but have failed to reach Palace's valuation for the Ivorian winger.

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“Our target is to achieve three, four players to really improve our team and squad now,” said Emery. “We are being very demanding and we are also first speaking about the possibility to sign very big players, very expensive.

“The first player in our list is the first target and after, if we cannot have that then [we try to sign] the second, but thinking every time that they are going to improve our team.”