The only thing that makes captaincy redundant is when you appoint weak minded shrills to the job like Wenger does. He gives it to the player who his whim takes him to give not because he has the right temperament or characteristics but often as a sop to keep him (Henry, Fabregas). Vieira was a leader and his characteristics matched that of the team, we were dogged and difficult to beat. Now we give it to Arteta because he has nice hair. You could argue that Vermaelen had been captain of Ajax before so was a natural leader but when he doesn't play then it has no meaning. This team mirrors Wengers personality, fragile, febrile and effeminate.
Its quite well known that Wenger does`nt like strong personalities. He avoids them. they may start asking shit like "why do we always play for 4th"