Arsenal’s captaincy has been a major issue for the club in recent seasons, with Mikel Arteta struggling to find a suitable leader much like Unai Emery before him.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the club’s leader at the start of this season, but he joined Barcelona in January after falling out with his manager.
Alexandre Lacazette then handled the captaincy from late last year, but the Frenchman is now being benched for Eddie Nketiah.
In his absence, Martin Odegaard has worn the armband and former Liverpool midfielder, Jamie Redknapp, believes this choice is spot-on from Arteta.
He said on Sky Sports, as quoted by The Daily Mail: ‘By bringing him into the team, they might have stumbled across a problem that’s caused Arsenal for a few years, the captaincy.
‘Xhaka was captain for a while, didn’t really work, [then] Aubameyang, then they give it to Lacazette. It was almost that no one wanted to be.
‘But giving it to Odegaard, it feels right for me. He may not be the most vocal but when you watch him play, he organises people, he plays the right pass. He’s a lovely player to watch.
‘You can see from Mikel Arteta’s point of view, he’s almost his manager on the pitch. It might be one where, he’s there for the future, he’s a fantastic player, good type of guy as well. It’s a masterstroke from Arteta.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Despite his age, Odegaard already captains the Norwegian national team, and he is one of the best leaders in the current Arsenal dressing room.
The midfielder has done his job to perfection in the last few weeks and it is hard to argue that he shouldn’t be our permanent leader now.
Arteta will probably choose his new leaders before the start of next season and it would be a surprise if another player is picked ahead of him.