With Milligan’s international retirement still fresh in his mind, Arnold will think long and hard before handing the coveted role to the likes of Mat Ryan, Mathew Leckie, Trent Sainsbury or Aziz Behich - all of whom have already tasted the captaincy under his watch.
Brighton goalkeeper Ryan skippered Australia in their last two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Taiwan and Jordan.
But that was in the absence of the unavailable Leckie, and according to Arnold this shouldn’t necessarily be used as a guide as to who will ultimately land the mantle.
“I haven’t made a final decision at all,” Arnold said.
“After many meetings and conversations I now feel we have a good leadership group in place.
“Since I’ve been in charge Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Aziz Behich and Maty Leckie have all experienced the role.
“At the end of the day, I have a core leadership group there who have taken the reins and I’ll decide who the next captain is when it comes closer to March (for the World Cup qualifier against Kuwait in Perth).”
Arnold views the position as both symbolically significant and materially crucial to on and off-field cohesion.
“I’ve got an important decision to make,” he said.
"It's such a big honour to captain Australia ... so we have to get the decision right.
“It’s, of course, a symbolic thing but it’s also very important in terms of what happens on the pitch and away from it.
“To be captain of your country is a prestigious role and a big thing for our nation.
“As with all our national sports in Australia; the captaincy is about creating leadership.
“I’m not in a mad rush here ... Millsy’s retirement is still fresh in my mind.
“We all loved him and what he brought to the job and the team. My first year in charge was always about transition and creating depth in the squad after the 2018 World Cup.
“I do believe we have achieved that. Timmy (Cahill) and Mile (Jedinak) were both very strong leaders and they retired.
"We're fortunate to have Millsy and I think we’re now in good shape leadership-wise for the years to come.”
