Granit Xhaka's £21.5 million transfer to Bayer Leverkusen creates a huge void at Arsenal in more ways than one, but early indications are that Mikel Arteta already has the answers.
In many ways, the Switzerland international's departure is somewhat of a surprise given he's been a regular in the side ever since arriving from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2016 and, when fit and available for selection, has generally been an automatic starter during the Gunners manager's tenure.
But as exclusively revealed by football.london earlier in the week, with just 12 months remaining on his contract and at the age of 30, commanding a €25m (£21.5m) transfer fee certainly represents good business on Arsenal's behalf and the deal was officially announced on Thursday afternoon.
After netting nine goals whilst weighing in with seven assists across all competitions last season, Xhaka will certainly prove to be a tough act to follow on the pitch and that task looks set to fall on the shoulders of Kai Havertz who completed a £65m transfer from Chelsea last month.
Having said that, it's worth remembering that Xhaka is a vocal leader too. In fact, he was part of the Gunners' three-man leadership group last season alongside captain Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus, with Rob Holding wearing the armband on occasions as one of the senior players in the squad.
So with the midfielder departing, there is now an opening. After quietly building an impressive young leadership group at Arsenal in recent years Arteta has plenty of options at his disposal and could even fast-track Declan Rice - captain of West Ham United - once his club-record £105m transfer is finalised.
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Or it could be that Gabriel Magalhaes earns a promotion. After all, the Brazilian wore the Arsenal captain's armband during the second half of the 3-0 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion towards the end of last season and this occurred when Odegaard, Xhaka and Jesus had all been substituted.
The decision was made even with Kieran Tierney - who not too long ago was being tipped to become permanent captain - an experienced head such as Thomas Partey - who is the captain of the Ghana national team - and a vocal Aaron Ramsdale all on the pitch.
As a result, this may have been a clear indication that Gabriel, a dependable member of the first-team squad, will be named in Arsenal's leadership group for next season as Arteta looks to ensure his side doesn't miss a beat when it comes to replacing Xhaka on and off the pitch.
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