Recently, fans have been discussing whether Declan Rice should take the Arsenal captaincy from Martin Odegaard, but the midfielder has just shut down those suggestions.
Rice’s importance for Arsenal on and off the pitch has been absolutely massive this season, which has generated debate as to whether he should be captain.
Fill in the blank: Arsenal’s captain should be _____________
Meanwhile, despite his recent return to form, Odegaard has missed a large portion of the campaign with an injury, with many supporters forgetting just how crucial he is for Mikel Arteta’s team.
Amid talk of whether Rice should be given the Arsenal armband, the 26-year-old has sent a short message to Odegaard, which should end all speculation.
Declan Rice sends two-word message to Martin Odegaard
Declan Rice has made it clear that he very much sees Martin Odegaard as the captain of Arsenal, amid suggestions of him taking over.
The midfielder sent his Arsenal teammate a two-word message on Instagram, which just shows the respect he has for the Norwegian international.
Odegaard shared several highlights from 2025 on his Instagram, including the celebrations following Rice’s brace of free-kicks against Real Madrid.
In the comments, Rice wrote, ‘da skip’, highlighting how he still very much sees the former Real Madrid star as the main man at the Emirates Stadium.
Even Ray Parlour has been involved in the debate, insisting Odegaard does so much work behind the scenes, which makes him captain material.
Fill the blanks: I think Martin Odegaard will end the season with a total of __ goal contributions.
Odegaard’s recent return to form has served as a reminder of just how important he can be for Arsenal, with the 27-year-old running the show in attack.
His performance has meant that Eberechi Eze has remained on the Arsenal bench for the last three games in a row.
Now, following Rice’s message to Odegaard, the debate as to Arsenal’s captaincy should be brought to an abrupt halt.
Martin Odegaard’s impressive Premier League stats
Odegaard now has a goal involvement in each of his last three Premier League matches for the Gunners.
The midfielder produced a wonderful strike against Brighton to hand Arsenal the lead in a game which they won 2-1.
He then set up Martin Zubimendi’s goal against Aston Villa for 2-0 with a superb pass, which the Spaniard managed to latch on to and slot home.
Finally, Odegaard got the assist for Rice’s first goal against Bournemouth, showing great awareness to just lay off the ball, which the midfielder lashed home.
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