The debate around Arsenal’s captaincy will not go away.
Despite being the first Gunners captain to lift the Premier League trophy since Patrick Vieira led the Invincibles in 2004, some are not convinced Martin Odegaard is the right man for the armband.
This time, it is John Terry making the case for a change.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the former Chelsea and England captain thinks Mikel Arteta should make Declan Rice captain.
“With this generation you say they’re not robust enough, they’re not a little bit old school. Declan [Rice] is that in a nutshell and I think he gives you that,” Terry said.
Tell us your thoughts on Martin Odegaard being Arsenal captain
“I think he should be Arsenal captain for me. He’s the man that needs the armband. I think Arsenal moving in the direction will be better for it with him in charge and leading.”
Terry is not alone in this thinking. Arsenal legend Tony Adams made the same call at the start of last season, arguing that handing Rice the armband could actually free Odegaard up to play with greater freedom in the attacking third.
Does the Arsenal captaincy debate actually matter?
In truth, probably not. It is easy to see why old-schoolers see Rice as the better fit. He is a vocal, more traditional leader in the mould embodied by central midfielders of previous eras.
Thomas Tuchel recently described him as having the ‘highest football IQ’, and named the £105million man as England’s vice-captain, widely seen as heir apparent to Harry Kane’s armband.
Odegaard, on the other hand, is a different type of leader. He leads by example, setting the tone and guiding his teammates in the press, while also being the orchestrator in attack.
Who is Arsenal’s GREATEST EVER captain and why?
Most Arsenal fans would agree that the Norwegian has been an excellent captain since his appointment in 2022.
Arteta has built a leadership group at Arsenal led by Odegaard and Rice, as well as Bukayo Saka, David Raya, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber.
That is an extraordinary collection of leaders across the pitch, and it is clearly working — they are champions of England.
Rice himself previously played down any suggestion of tension, publicly referring to Odegaard as “da skip.”
The armband debate is an interesting one. But with this group, it is largely academic.
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