Arsenal have made significant progress since Unai Emery's departure, but the Spaniard will be remembered for controversially handling the club captaincy during his tenure. Inside Unai Emery's five-man Arsenal captain group and where they are now Unai Emery faces off against his former club Arsenal on Saturday, with the memories and remnants of his indifferent tenure fading with each passing season. Since the Spaniard's departure in November 2019, Mikel Arteta has transformed the Gunners into title fighters after a serious overhaul of the club's playing roster and more. The much-slandered 'leadership group', on which Emery swore instead of relying on a single captain, is among the factors that are about to bite the dust. Along with Martin Odegaard, the permanently appointed captain, and Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka, who are considered to be the two Arsenal stars who will fulfill the duties of captain in his absence, Arteta has somehow kept this connection somewhat tactful. But what happened to Emery's original five-man leader group? Emery replaces Per Mertesacker, who was appointed Arsenal manager in 2018, adding: "I want the leaders in the team to have the capacity for every player to always show leadership." Chance to be captain.” Mirror Football is now taking a look at where they are... Laurent Koscielny AFP via ) AFP via ) The man who received the armband, Koscielny gave an admirable performance in the role and was highly respected by the Arsenal fan base until his departure. No one was bothered by the then-33-year-old's departure, more so as he explained it himself - ripping off his Arsenal shirt shortly after refusing to go on a pre-season tour to America, revealing Bordeaux underneath. . He was criticized by Arsenal legends for being "disrespectful" and later apologized for "creating a stir" with his shirt show. Yet this was nothing compared to what was to come. Taking over as captain at his new club, Koscielny was later removed from the armband and frozen from A-team relations after some questionable performances in January last year, but only made 11 that season due to injuries. He then abruptly retired two months later after denying allegations of racism made by the club's ultras. It was a bad ending for the defender, who admitted his debut: "I took it badly. It was a slap in the face." Aaron Ramsey Matthieu Mirville/DPPI/REX/) Matthieu Mirville/DPPI/REX/) Speaking of sour outs, Ramsey's departure hit Arsenal fans hard after the club let his contract expire before Juventus raided him to grab him as a free agent. Despite reports suggesting that Ramsey had turned down a new deal in north London, the midfielder has since claimed he verbally agreed to an extension before Arsenal withdrew his offer. When he was told that £400,000 a week he received in Turin and another craze in Champions League football - still, things didn't go so well. Ramsey's turbulent spell ended so badly that Juventus tore his contract a year early and announced the news in a short 13-word statement. The last six months have been spent on loan with Rangers, where he has struggled to make any meaningful impact. Currently trading at French club Nice, the 32-year-old played 22 games this season and played for Wales in the last World Cup. Mesut Ozil Anadolu Agency via ) Anadolu Agency via ) While Ramsey's contract status was a disappointment, it was nothing in the £350,000-a-week deal that Özil cashed out as Arsenal's highest-paid player. The quarterback never managed to rise to the top during Emery's reign and was eventually ejected by Arteta after his deal was terminated six months early. This allowed Özil to join Fenerbahçe as a free agent, but his time there came to an almost equally turbulent end. Özil was suspended by the club a little over a year ago after a verbal altercation with coach İsmail Kartal. When he moved to Istanbul Başakşehir at the end of the season, he did not play for Fenerbahçe again because his contract was terminated. Injuries have limited him to just six games this season amid reports he is considering retirement. Özil, the owner and manager of his own Esports company, has previously suggested that the World Cup winner could become an Esports athlete when their game days are over. Petr Cech From keeping a net between the sticks... well, keeping a net between the sticks. Not much has changed in theory for goalkeeper Petr Cech, except he's currently living his dream of playing ice hockey for the Chelmsford Chieftains in the NIHL South Division One. Cech, 40, is so caught up in his new environment that he has even claimed to have had more fun on the ice rink for Chelsea and Arsenal than when he played in the Premier League and Champions League. He told the Daily Mail: "I love football, but [as a kid] I felt it was more fun to be an ice hockey goalie. As a family, we couldn't afford to buy all the equipment, so my dad took me to football. In the end, football won." Cech was working as sporting director at Chelsea prior to Todd Boehly's takeover, and then resigned after sanctions were placed on former owner Roman Abramovich. Granite Xhaka What a journey the Swiss midfielder went on. After being booed on the pitch against Arsenal fans during their with Crystal Palace in October 2019, it was almost unthinkable to see him outside of the leadership group. Xhaka was captained by Emery and was desperate to leave the club after the episode, but the move to another location never materialized due to a U-turn after showdown talks with Arteta the following January. Xhaka told the Players Tribune in April 2022: "My heart was telling me, You can't leave this football club like this. Mikel and I never talked about my future again because six months later I was happy. “Today I definitely know that I made the right decision because I am still here, but I cannot claim that my relationship with the fans will never be the same because that moment will always be in my heart. "Like broken glass, you know? You can put the pieces together, but the cracks will always be there. I wish we had a better relationship. I wish we could understand each other better." Xhaka has become a key title-seeking player for Arsenal this season and his relationship with the fans seems to be improving. Arteta said, “He made some mistakes and learned from it, but he always faced adversity and hardship and never ran away from it. "This is what all managers want from their players. You know you can trust him, he will fight for you and break walls. That's what we expect from our players." Gotopnews.com