Arsenal icon Martin Keown has called on his former side to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of his role as captain during the contract standoff between player and club.
Aubameyang's deal with the Gunners runs out next summer but he is yet to agree to an extension and is linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium.
The Gabonese striker was handed the armband in November when Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy following an angry retaliation to being booed by his own fans.
And while he has proved his worth as a striker - scoring 49 league goals in 75 appearances - Keown insists Aubameyang must also lose the role.
He told talkSPORT : “I think the message needs to be to the player 'look, we can't have you captaining the club if there's uncertainty around your contract', in the last year of his contract, that can't be allowed to happen."
Keown also believes Aubameyang is destined to leave this summer, with Real Madrid heavily linked with the former Borussia Dortmund man.
“I think he’ll leave with a heavy heart,” the former England defender added.
“I think he’s the nearest thing I have seen to Thierry Henry at the football club and the club will have to make swift decisions.
"They can’t allow what happened a few years ago with the transfers just going on and on. The club needs direction.”
Despite thinking Aubameyang will leave, Keown insists the value of keeping a player who could lead the club to Champions League football must be taken into account.
“Whether you keep him, whether you don't, that all depends on the monetary side," Keown said.
“What are they going to get? What are the offers? Because they do need to look at it and what it means to them to break into the Champions League, to maybe challenge for a Premier League.
“So if they're only going to get an offer of £20m-£30m then you have to consider whether you're going to keep him there or not and whether the player has got the mental capacity to stay, but he can't be captain because the message is the wrong one to the rest of the group.
“So there's lots of building for Arteta to do.”
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