“Odegaard is Arsenal’s captain by teammate” Arteta responds to Tony Adams’ criticism

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that Martin Ødegaard’s appointment as club captain was decided “by a mile” in a dressing room vote, with the Norwegian receiving overwhelming backing from his teammates, Softfootball reports.

Arteta’s comments were a response to Arsenal’s legend Tony Adams questioning Odegaard’s leadership credentials after the Gunners’ recent Premier League near-misses. Adams had publicly urged Arteta to hand the armband to Declan Rice, insisting the England midfielder possesses the “winner’s mentality” to take the club over the line.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener, Arteta explained that the decision was far from arbitrary; it was the result of a collective process within the squad following significant personnel changes.

Arteta told Arsenal TV:

“We all see it differently, and if we’re going to talk about leadership and the kind of leaders, we can be here for hours.”  “What matters most is how these guys feel about who needs to lead them who’s going to push them, who’s going to give them support, and who they want to represent the club when we go out there.”

The Spaniard also confirmed that Arsenal’s leadership group had been reshaped after the departure of several senior figures.

Arteta added:

“We change a lot and we change the leadership group. A lot of players that were there are now gone. We need to re-establish that. It gives you so much information about how they feel about themselves, how they see who’s the leader, and who can join the leadership group.”

Odegaard first wore the armband in 2022 after the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and has since become an influential figure both on and off the pitch, guiding Arsenal to back-to-back top-two league finishes.