Arsenal legend Tony Adams was "a bit out of order" in his recent criticism of Martin Odegaard, but the only way the Gunners skipper can respond perfectly is by demonstrating his class on the pitch, expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
Former centre-back Adams - widely considered to be one of the Gunners' greatest captains of all time - recently implored Mikel Arteta to strip Odegaard of the armband and hand over the responsibility to Declan Rice, claiming that the Englishman is better-placed to elevate Arsenal to a title-winning level.
Arteta responded by revealing that Odegaard - who has been in possession of the armband since 2022 following Alexandre Lacazette's exit - won the squad captain's vote "by a mile", and the player himself stressed on international duty earlier this week that he does not care what Adams had to say.
Odegaard has also served as Norway skipper since 2021, and while Watts believes that the playmaker is right not to pay attention to Adams, he has insisted that the 26-year-old can only "shut up" his doubters by performing on the pitch.
“I thought Tony was a bit out of order," Watts said. "He’s very old school, a legend, one of my favourite-ever Arsenal players. The greatest captain we've ever had. And everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But I thought he was going a bit over the top with that.
“It’s just a very old-fashioned view. Under Martin Odegaard as captain, Arsenal broke pretty much every record there was to break a couple of seasons ago. They didn’t not win the league because they had Odegaard as captain. He led them to a remarkable season. They were just pipped to the post by an unbelievable Manchester City team.
Odegaard can "shut up" Adams by rediscovering old Arsenal form
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard pictured on August 23, 2025
“So I didn't agree with Tony at all. And I like the fact that Odegaard has come out and said ‘I don't care’ because I don't think he needs to, no matter who says it and how important they are in the club's history. But the only way he's going to respond and shut up all of his doubters is by helping Arsenal be successful on the pitch.
“Last season, he wasn't good enough. He had a poor season by his very, very high standards. So he just needs to get back to playing as well as he possibly can. If he does that, Arsenal are going to have a great chance of being successful because Martin Odegaard is such a wonderful player when he's on it. And when he's on it, Arsenal are a better team.”
After recording 15 goals and seven assists in 37 Premier League games in 2022-23 and eight strikes and 11 assists from 35 matches in 2023-24, Odegaard failed to hit his lofty standards last season, where he was hampered by an ankle injury in the autumn.
The ex-Real Madrid starlet managed six goals and 12 assists in all competitions, and he is yet to directly contribute to a goal in the current Premier League campaign, although a shoulder injury limited his involvement against Leeds United and Liverpool.
However, Odegaard was one of the stars of the show in Norway's 11-1 annihilation of Moldova in World Cup 2026 Qualifying on Tuesday night, coming up with a goal and two assists while creating eight chances, firing seven shots and playing 13 passes into the final third.
There is next to no chance of Odegaard having the captaincy taken off him by Arteta, but Watts has affirmed that players do not need the armband to lead on the pitch, and the Adams days of old-school leaders are over.
Watts: 'Days of old-fashioned Adams captains are over'
Tony Adams in action for Arsenal in 1997
“What difference did it make who's wearing the armband? If Declan Rice was the captain, would that have made a massive difference? Would that have got him over the line that season when they just missed out to Man City? I don't think it would have done," he added.
“There’s leaders all over the pitch. It's a really strong leadership group. Gabriel, Bukayo Saka can do it, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, who’s got the full respect of his teammates. Declan can continue to lead without the armband, so I just don't really buy into what Tony was saying.
“I understand where he's coming from because of the type of captain he was, but those days are gone. What other captains have we had in a Tony Adams mould in the modern era? I'm not sure we've really seen one like that since John Terry. Those days of the old-fashioned leader type thing, we've been through that.”
Odegaard is expected to be back in the Arsenal starting XI when the Gunners host Nottingham Forest in Saturday's Premier League showdown, replacing Mikel Merino after the Spaniard stepped in for the skipper at Anfield due to his shoulder injury.
Merino could not make an impact in that 1-0 loss to Liverpool, but he struck a wonderful hat-trick for Spain against Turkey at the weekend, one which Watts feels may help him"change perceptions".
> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Adams's comments and Odegaard's response to the Arsenal legend
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