Mikel Arteta says that Arsenal held a vote among the squad in which the players endorsed the choice of Martin Odegaard as captain.
“My opinion is clear, and it’s not just my opinion — it’s all the staff and especially the players,” Arteta told a news conference on Friday ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Manchester United. “I asked them to vote (for) the captain, and I got the results yesterday, and by a mile — by a hundred miles — everybody chose the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have.”
“It’s how they feel about who has to be their captain: to defend, to improve and win the matches that they want to win. So I think there is no question about that.”
Arteta explained the vote was part of assessing the leadership hierarchy within the squad after a summer of considerable activity in the transfer market.
“Especially because we change a lot and we change all the leadership groups because a lot of the players that were there now, they are gone,” Arteta said. “So, we need to re-establish that. It gives you so much information, really how they feel about themselves and how they see as a leader and how they see the people that can join that leadership group. So, it was really interesting to analyse all the data and to gather information.”
Odegaard, 26, was named as Arsenal captain in July 2022. Arteta’s endorsement comes off the back of former Arsenal captain Tony Adams stating he would like to see Arteta replace Odegaard as captain with Declan Rice.
“He’s got a really big call to make this year and for me, he hasn’t done it. The call is to make Declan Rice the captain,” Adams told the audience at an Irish Independent Sport event in Dublin last week. “Every now and again as a manager, you have to put someone who reflects you, who reflects the football club that you think can actually take you to the next level.
“You’ve got someone in there who’s going to play every game all season, that’s going to encourage people to come in and lay the foundations of a title-winning team. Declan Rice can do that, Odegaard can’t. Come on Arteta, make him captain.”
Adams spent his whole career at Arsenal, playing 672 games (Tim Merry – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Arteta dismissed the idea of replacing Odegaard as captain.
“We all see it different,” he said. “If we’re going to talk about leadership and the kind of leaders we can be here for hours. So, at the end what matters the most is how these guys feel about who needs to lead them, how they feel comfortable, who is going to push them, who is going to give them support when it’s happening.
“Basically, who do you want to represent the club and the team when we go out there and face any opposition? That’s the key.”
Odegaard is Arteta’s trusted lieutenant
It’s a ringing endorsement of Odegaard’s captaincy from Arteta. I wouldn’t expect anything else: Odegaard is a trusted lieutenant to the manager, with an exemplary attitude.
My personal feeling is the captaincy is somewhat arbitrary: the likes of Rice, Gabriel and Bukayo Saka are all leaders within the squad, who are able to contribute without necessarily wearing the armband.
As for Odegaard, the most important thing isn’t whether or not he skippers the team — it’s whether his form improves. He had a difficult season in 2024-25, interrupted by injury. If Arsenal are to achieve their goals this season, they will need Odegaard at his best. That strikes me as much more important than who is designated captain.
Team news
Ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford, Arteta confirmed that new signing Martin Zubimendi should be available for inclusion. “He had a great integration,” said Arteta. “Everybody can witness immediately a very big impact on the team and we’re really happy and he will be fit.”
Another summer arrival, Viktor Gyokeres, could be on course to line up against former manager Ruben Amorim.
“Yeah, he’s getting better and better every day,” Arteta said on Gyokeres. “He’s normally a really fit player. It’s true that he hasn’t trained so much with us. He had those two moments in games when he participated and the feeling was very good. So let’s see what we do on Sunday.”
Arteta also confirmed that Leandro Trossard may be available for Sunday’s game.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)