Martin Odegaard has faced criticism for his performances last season, with former Arsenal defender Tony Adams suggesting that he should be replaced by Declan Rice. The Norwegian midfielder has been tipped to lose his place in the starting eleven at the Emirates if his form does not improve, and some have even urged the club to strip him of the captaincy.
Odegaard’s struggles were evident during a campaign in which Arsenal failed to make their mark. Despite pushing for the title in consecutive seasons, the Gunners once again finished second, with Liverpool securing a higher position in the table. This season is viewed as a crucial opportunity for Arsenal to finally win the Premier League, and the club is working to ensure it can deliver a winning campaign.
Odegaard Under Scrutiny
Certain fans and pundits have pointed to Odegaard as a potential weakness in the squad, although he continues to enjoy strong support from within the dressing room. His leadership remains valued, and it has now been confirmed that his role as captain is not under threat. Mikel Arteta revealed that the decision was made collectively by the players, as quoted by The Sun.
“Well, my opinion is clear. It’s not just my opinion, it’s all the staff and especially the players.
“I asked them to vote for the captain, and I got the result yesterday.
“By a mile, by a big, big 100 marks, everybody’s choosing the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have, how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win.
“So there’s no question about that.”
Leadership and Expectations
Arteta’s comments make it clear that Odegaard retains the trust of both his teammates and the coaching staff. With such strong backing, the focus now turns to his performances on the pitch. Arsenal’s ambitions this season will require their captain to deliver consistently, setting the tone for the rest of the squad. Odegaard’s influence could prove decisive in their pursuit of silverware, and improved form from him would provide a vital boost to their title challenge.
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I believe Odergaard will have a fabulous season as long as he, Saka and Gyokeres stay fit
Odergaard is a very talented midfielder and just because he didn’t have a great season last season doesn’t mean he won’t this season
Yeah I think people are too harsh after one poor season from him, he was clearly not himself, be it playing through injury or illness, along with having makeshift players around him.
However, I do think being both captain and the main creator is too much for most players, and he’s still young. Personally I think giving the captaincy to Gabriel/Rice and allowing Odegaard more freedom to create would be better overall but I’ve no issue with the decision thats been made.
Players choosing their captain. That’s how it should be. Says a lot that he’s also captain of his National team.
I’m afraid some of our older former players have an outdated view of leadership. It’s 2025 not 1995.
One has to ask what purpose does it serve to change the captain?
Arteta is clearly confident in his ability and suitability to carry out the role. There are other players who can also do it but there’s not a problem with Odegaard occupying the hot seat. I don’t go to that many games but his behaviour has been exemplary whenever I’m there. He is a figurehead and until he can’t get a game through lack of form, why change what isn’t broken? He’s got a couple of worthy lieutenants to assist him so not a big deal for me. It could well be counterproductive fiddling around and upsetting the mental balance
Exactly, exactly, exactly and exactly.
This is not a hill for anyone to attempt dying on.
SueP,
Your quote of: He is a figurehead and until he can’t get a game through lack of form, why change what isn’t broken.
Well his lack of form didn’t cost him his place at any time last season did it. That’s where I have a problem with club Captain’s regards team selection. Being Captain more often than not seems to guarantee them a starting place. And Arsenal are not the only one’s guilty of this by the way.
Now I know people will throw our injury record back at me from last season, but that doesn’t wash with me really. As Nwaneri was fit all season, and there were times when Odegaard should have been benched. But as I said being Captain seems to be the shield that’s used for consistently picking a player that was clearly out of form.
And as for the upsetting the mental balance quote: Well has anyone considered that freeing him from the Captaincy, might just free him up to just concentrate on being the creative player that we’re lead to believe. Just a thought. 🤷♂️
Nwaneri also faded toward the end of the season. He was getting cramp in some games and had to be withdrawn before games ended- a clear sign he had played more minutes than his body could handle at the time . He even got an injury at some point.It looks like a decision was made to protect Ethan because he didn’t play much later on.
With Ethan not an option, there was no one else. Havertz could have been an option but then who would play at centre forward? For me, the mistake wasn’t in benching Ethan- that was the correct decision to protect him. The mistake was made in the transfer market- getting rid of Fabio & ESR and not replacing them. Both of these players could have been options for Odegaard.
Simply, I don’t think Odegaard started all the time because of his captaincy but because he was our only option. Auba being captain didn’t stop him from being exiled.
OT but its amazing what the player’s at Liverpool can produce in a game when they are trusted and given the freedom to express themselves.
Not just goals but great moments too
We have amazing players in our squad, giving them the freedom on the pitch would be a joy to watch and could only be beneficial
That game also showed their defensive frailties.They were 2-0 ahead and Bournemouth easily cut through them with quick counters to make it 2-2.
Ultimately they won 4-2 but you can’t ignore the two goals they conceded.There has to be a balance between freedom and caution,otherwise you risk conceding lots of goals and sometimes the amount you score won’t be enough to get a win,like we often saw with Tottenham under Ange.
I don’t see Odegaard captainship bringing anything to our table. I opposed it from onset. You only see him against smaller clubs. On big occassions he disappears! I see more future on both Nwaneri and Dowman as our new attacking midfielders. I also want one of Martinelli or Nelson being drafted into the right of attack, not every time we start left footers there. Arteta’s two biggest winnings, which was his two winnings against Man City in the league, all came when he started right footers on the right of attack.
Honestly I don’t think the choice of captain contributes to winning. A team like Real Madrid tends to just select the oldest serving member of their squad as captain and yet they are the most successful club in the world. Sometimes,their captain doesn’t even start matches.
Besides, a player doesn’t need to have the armband on the pitch to show their leadership qualities. Xhaka continued being one of the leaders on the pitch even after he was stripped of the captaincy. Rice ,Saka and Gabriel can do the same.
Most importantly,it’s his teammates who want him.Perhaps they see something in him that you don’t,seeing as they are around him all the time.
He must release the ball in real time
Nowadays the captains role is basically to do the tossup and choose to kick off or choose ends. People are saying he is not vocal but what’s to stop the other senior players being vocal and geeing players up during a game. I was brought with McLintock and Adams, great vocal captains, but the game has changed now
You’re spot on about the game having changed. If you look around,most of the captains being chosen are the diplomatic kind like Kane,Messi,VVD etc The vocal kind,especially now that dissent is not encouraged in the game,tend to be targets for cards. The ability to communicate,be a good ambassador of the club and show leadership by example, are traits that are far more valued in a captain than being vocal.
Things have changed over the years as others have said and while Odegaard isn’t in the mould of some of those previous, famous, Arsenal captains, if the players want him as captain, why not?
T Adams comment are just purely based on odegaard display which was awful last season and presently, he doesn’t rate him as a top player, I share adams view too but like arteta and him, they both deserve 1 more chance to save their roles.
But I believe the election was rigged😅
COYG
Arteta needs to be ruthless and honest this season, odegaard poor display was part of what cost us last season coz he wasn’t creating anything so the team was not creating much , yet arteta foolishly stuck with him despite his poor form when nwaneri could have helped. I believe that won’t happen this season. Both nwaneri and special downman must be unleashed this season as they are the only no 10 player in the team .
AND PLEASE I CAN NO LONGER BEAR TO NOT HAVE SOMEONE WEARING THE NUMBER 10 JERSEY. CAN SOMEONE PLZ TELL THE CLUB/ARTETA TO GIVE IT TO *Special max downman ALREADY!!.
THANKS
When Odegaard got injured last season,for most of the games he was out, Arsenal looked clueless,as they lacked creativity. When he returned from the injuries, Odegaard was never the same, yet he created chances and many were not converted. This season, his numbers will be much better.
Wayne,
I don’t know which Odegaard you were watching, but it certainly wasn’t the same one as me. 🤦♂️