After star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was deprived of his responsibilities due to a disciplinary infraction, the Spanish coach is on the search for a new figurehead to lead the Gunners.

After apparently returning late from a holiday abroad, the Gabonese forward was left out of Arsenal’s weekend match against Southampton and is now poised to be shut out indefinitely.

He was already dropped for the north London derby back in March after arriving late to a squad meeting.

With Arteta yet to announce Aubameyang’s replacement, former Arsenal stalwart Keown believes Tierney would be an excellent choice, but has expressed reservations over the full-relationship back’s relationship with his boss.

In his Daily Mail column, Keown wrote, “Now that Arteta has taken action, he has the opportunity to choose his own skipper.” “Under his management, I believe Kieran Tierney has been the star player who could fulfil that role.”

“However, when Tierney returned from injury and wasn’t instantly reintegrated into the team, his relationship with his manager appeared to be strained.”

Tierney was benched for the following four games after returning from injury, as Arteta preferred to use summer signing Nuno Tavares at left-back.

Tierney has since been reinstalled for the games against Everton and Southampton, but Keown doubts Arteta’s motivations for leaving the Scot off of his starting XI.

In addition to mentioning Tierney as a possible captain, the former Arsenal defender mentioned a few other candidates, but expressed misgivings about their age and experience.