Arsenal's new-look leadership group may have been quietly revealed after £25.5m deals struck

Mikel Arteta was giving very little away on Friday with regard to what the Arsenal leadership group looks like this season as there has been a couple of enforced changes following the summer transfer window.

Just under a year ago, The Athletic reported that Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Jesus had been nominated to support newly-appointed captain Martin Odegaard in leadership roles. This proved to be the case as the aforementioned pair donned the armband whenever the playmaker was absent.

Furthermore, on the rare occasion when all three were not on the pitch at the same time, Rob Holding wore the armband — most recently in the 4-2 win over Aston Villa back in February as Arteta made a substitution to protect a lead — thus effectively confirming the defender was also part of the leadership group.

However, only two from that list are still at Arsenal today. So with Xhaka joining Bayer Leverkusen for £21.5million at the start of the summer and Holding making the permanent switch to Crystal Palace on deadline dayin a deal understood to be worth somewhere in the region of £4million, replacements are expected to be named.

After all, Arteta did reveal in pre-season that he would clarify the leadership group once the summer transfer window had closed: «We need a bit more time just to make sure that the squad is clear, the roles are clear and when we make one decision, that's the decision,» he said. «If we do it too early, we're going to have to change it maybe because the market is so unpredictable and I don't want to do that.»

A fortnight after the closure of the summer window, the Gunners boss was asked for an update and in classic fashion, his response was rather coy: «It's not about a decision or making something formal or public,» he