Premier League clubs approve changes to associated party transaction rules
The proposed changes came into play after an independent tribunal found some aspects of the APT rules to be unlawful following Manchester City’s lawsuit.
With Per Mertesacker retiring at the end of last season, the captain’s armband is up for grabs at Arsenal, but new manager Unai Emery seems unsure of who will be the towering German’s successor.
Club vice-captain Laurent Koscienly is out with a long-term injury and will be unavailable for their Premier League opener against defending champions Manchester City on August 12.
The Gunners get their pre-season underway on Saturday, with a friendly against Boreham Wood and Emery was quizzed on the captaincy issue at his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
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“We’ve spoken about that,” Emery responded when asked about who would be captaining the side when the season starts in August.
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“My idea is to know every player and to know, also, the personality of the players. And then, I think my first idea is to have five captains in the team. But at the moment, I don’t know the names. I need to know more and also, firstly, Koscielny is the first captain now and for me, I have respect for that.”
There’s a high possibility that Aaron Ramsey will be given the armband, especially after Emery gushed about the Welsh midfielder at the same presser.
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The 27-year-old’s been stalling on inking a contract extension and the captaincy could be dangled for him as an added incentive to sign the new deal.
“Then, we are looking at, looking for, who are the players whose personality is the best in the dressing room. We want to keep the respect for these players and to find the captain and choose very well the best player for that.”
Other clubs have experimented with multiple captions in the past, with varying degrees of success.
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