EDITOR’S PICK
EKO HOT BLOG reports that Mikel Arteta has praised Martin Odegaard’s leadership skills, fuelling speculation that the attacking midfielder will become Arsenal’s new club captain.
The Gunners have been without an official skipper since the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in January, with Alexandre Lacazette taking over as de facto captain in his absence.
The Frenchman’s promotion was never likely to be a permanent appointment and with the striker potentially leaving the Emirates at the end of the season when his contract expires, a decision over who will wear the armband full-time is set to be made during the summer.
Arsenal have struggled to find a consistent and popular leader in the dressing room for some time now, with six different players named as club captain in the last six years
But now, it appears that in Odegaard, Arteta may have found his new skipper, one that can lead the young and vibrant Arsenal side into a new era.
Speaking to Norway channel TV2, the Spanish manager confirmed that the 23-year-old was in contention for the captaincy, saying: ‘Time will tell. He is developing in the right direction.
“The most important thing is the respect and admiration he gets from his teammates. He represents everything we want in this club. He is a good alternative.”
Odegaard, who already captains the Norwegian National Team, joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021 before signing permanently last summer for £31.5million.
While his time in North London has been brief, he has already shown a wealth of quality on the pitch, but Arteta highlighted how much he has developed since leaving Madrid and how his positive influence affects his teammates.
He added: ‘His leadership skills are different than how leadership is defined by many people. He has some very special abilities that we would develop and get out of him.
He needed the right environment, he needed to feel important, which has been difficult for him to feel the last couple of years.
“He is very intelligent. He picks up everything. He identifies all the problems we have on the field, or things we can take advantage of. He communicates very well with his teammates, they listen to him, and I see it as the right flow of information for things to be right on the field.”
FURTHER READING
While currently the favourite to be named Arsenal captain, Odegaard does face some friendly competition from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale as well as defenders Kieran Tierney, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes.
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