Arsène Wenger
Wenger - Role of the captain is overplayed
- 'Thierry finished the story of a legend'
- Wenger - Africa Nations has disappointed
- Wenger - Gervinho may be back next weekend
- ‘I’m confident about our big week ahead’
- Sunderland v Arsenal: Choose your MotM
- Top 20 Most Liked
By Nick Teale
Arsène Wenger believes the role of captain isn't as important in football as some people make out.
The manager feels that the influence of a skipper is overplayed in England because the player who leads the side out before a match cannot have much impact on other players once the game kicks off.
Wenger acknowledges that captaincy is more relevant in other major team sports, such as rugby and cricket, but he has his doubts that the ‘armband' really matters in football.
"Yes [captaincy] is overplayed, without a doubt," said the manager.
"[You have to make] an instant decision in a very quick time. The captain has no time to interfere with the individual decisions of the players on the pitch.
"Maybe in some other sports like rugby the captain has a bit more freedom and importance than in football."
Wenger also offered his take on why the role of team captain is deemed so important in English sport. He believes it could be down to the history of the country.
"Maybe it has historical roots in battles and fighting," he said. "Certainly the captain had always traditionally in the history of England, a big role and a big importance.
"I like that, but team sport is linked with recent history, the 20th Century. Before you had no team sport, it turned up with democracy. Before that, it was all fighting, and so maybe it is linked with historical roots."
[Friday, February 05, 2010]
More Arsenal News
-
Sat, Feb 11, 2012
‘Even Milan said we were the better side’ -
Sat, Feb 11, 2012
'Thierry finished the story of a legend' -
Sat, Feb 11, 2012
Sunderland v Arsenal: Choose your MotM -
Sat, Feb 11, 2012
TEAM NEWS: One change for Sunderland trip -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Wenger - Africa Nations has disappointed -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
‘I’m confident about our big week ahead’ -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Wenger - Gervinho may be back next weekend -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Wenger – We are paying back our stadium debt -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Arsenal train ahead of Sunderland - Pictures -
Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Player: Sunderland v Arsenal - Highlights
