Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said being Arsenal captain has made him more responsible and more focused on every game.
In November 2019, former manager Unai Emery named Aubameyang the new club captain after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy as punishment for a confrontation with Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gabon captain has proven his leadership qualities since assuming the role, by delivering star performances which helped the Gunners win the FA Cup against Chelsea last season, followed by their Community Shield triumph over Liverpool at the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
In his assessment, the 31-year-old said the captain's role makes him spread positive vibes and also help his teammates, by even screaming on the bench if he is not playing.
“I think [I have changed], yeah. Because you feel a lot of responsibilities and I think I am trying to give everything in every single game,” Aubameyang told the club website.
"I think before maybe, I don't know, it was not done on purpose but maybe sometimes I was a little bit less concerned on certain games. But now I am just focusing on every game and trying to give my best. Even if I'm on the bench I try to scream and help my teammates, so yeah I think it's changed me.
"I think this is really important because sometimes you can also have bad days and be in a bad mood, so you have to try to change it into positive things.
"This is where I am, how can I say, it's easy for me to make people maybe happier: to lift them up and that's my job. I can say that's my job but I do it naturally."
Aubameyang who has scored two goals in nine Premier League games this season, added that the captaincy has made him a model for Mikel Arteta’s men.
“I just have to be the example for everyone,” he said. “If I have to go to the gym to do the upper body I have to go first, then everyone will follow. Because the guys in the gym are waiting and say, ‘If you come then everyone will come! You know that!' So I say 'OK, OK' so now I am the first to go to the gym, this is it.”
Arsenal are 11th in the Premier League table and they visit Leeds United for their next fixture after the international break on November 22.