Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has spoken about the process that lead to him being announced as the club's official captain.

The Gunners were on the lookout for a new skipper since Laurent Koscielny left in the summer.

After several months of discussions, Xhaka was named by manager Unai Emery as the club captain after a voting process amongst the players.

"The coach asked us to write five names, who we wanted to be the captains," Xhaka said of the process to the club website.

"Everything was discreet, so there were no names. You only wrote the five captains. In the end, I think the team, the players and of course the boss, decided who would be the first captain out of the five.

"Of course it's important that the other players believe in me and see how I work, how much I work. I'm a guy who wants to take all the players in one boat. We win together, we lose together, we win trophies together or we lose finals together, like in Baku.

"It's important that all the players - not only the players who play but the other players as well - are invited into our group to be happy, to speak with us if there are any problems.

"This is the role of a captain, to be strong and to be in front of the team. I think I'm a guy like this who can be in front of the team during the good times and the bad times."