Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla says manager Arsene Wenger couldn't have picked a better player to take over from Thomas Vermaelen as club's captain.
The former Everton man was handed the captaincy at the start of the season by the French manager and Cazorla says he was delighted with his team-mate's promotion.
"It makes me very happy," Cazorla told the club's official website.
"It was important for me to have him around when I arrived here. He helped me a lot on and off the pitch. He really deserves it.
"There are always players who are born to be a captain and he is one of them. He talks a lot on the pitch and also in the dressing room.
"He is always up for whatever the guys need. And that is what a captain has to do: transmitting conviction in order to keep the team together. And Mikel is prepared to do this.
"He leads this group, so this captaincy is well deserved after his hard work here at Arsenal."
"He transmits that motivation you need before an important game. The captain has to be the first one to speak. Mikel was doing this when he didn't wear the armband, so now he is the captain he will do so even more."
