Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the Arsenal defender, has said it does not matter who wears the captain’s armband as he urged new club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to focus on scoring the goals that will lift the team out of their current slump.

Aubameyang has become Arsenal’s new captain after Unai Emery stripped the armband from Granit Xhaka following the midfielder’s remarkable outburst towards his own supporters last month.

But Sokratis, who also played alongside Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund, said the issue of the captaincy is secondary to the players staying united behind the scenes.

“I think it is the first time he is a captain,” said Sokratis. “For me it’s important that Aubameyang first has to score, he has to do his work. The captaincy or who has this [armband] on the pitch, I don’t think it is very important.

“He [Aubameyang] is a very good guy. [But] who has the captaincy is not very important. It is important that all the team is good in the dressing room. We are like a family. In the end who brings to the pitch the captaincy is the last thing.”