Martin Odegaard's role as Arsenal captain has been called into question by many of the club's fanbase after watching their side's 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening. The Gunners were nowhere near their best against the Premier League's bottom team but showed the character of champions to claim all three points.
Sam Johnstone's 70th-minute own goal gave Mikel Arteta's men the lead until Wolves grabbed a deserved equaliser through Tolu Arokodare in the 90th minute. But another own goal, this time from Yerson Mosquera in the 90+4th minute, ensured the league leaders got back to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
Odegaard was introduced in the second half, having recently recovered from a knee injury, and he was one of the several players who celebrated the winner right at the death. But fans have pointed out that a teammate showed a more leader-like mentality to keep Arteta's men focused.
"Odegaard is a Front" - Arsenal Fans Want Captaincy Change
martin odegaard
Arteta has consistently spoken of Odegaard as a quiet leader who is a massive hit with his squad, and it was his personality that led Arteta to hand him the captain's armband back in July 2022. The Norwegian playmaker has been one of the Gunners' most important players during that period, but his leadership qualities have always been questioned.
That was the case on Saturday after fans watched Declan Rice lay into his teammates despite earning all three points right at the death. The English midfielder is the only one who isn't celebrating and instead looks like he feels his side was a tad fortunate.
Rice has experience captaining a club, having done so at West Ham United before his £105m move to the Emirates in the summer of 2023. Many think it's time to hand Odegaard's armband over to the Englishman.
Fans responded to a clip of Rice during the celebrations against Wolves, sharing their verdicts. One fan wrote:
"Just watch Rice."
Another clip showed Rice shrugging off a teammate as he headed towards the tunnel and this was touched on by a fan:
"I’ll also be furious if we had to drag it until the 94th minute to finish off the last placed team in the league."
Those two clips had other fans suggesting Rice should be Arteta's skipper and one fan explained:
"Rice absolutely lost it with his teammates after the game yesterday. Don’t blame him to be honest."
Another added:
"We know he's the true main captain, Odegaard is just a front."
One supporter is keen for a change to take place:
"I think its time we give him the armband."
Another fan gave a passionate explanation by venting their frustrations about the armband going back-and-forth between Odegaard and Bukayo Saka:
"Again this Declan Rice's mentality of "This performance is not good enough" is what the team should be having not the Odegaard who is screaming after that team's performance. That's an Elite/Captain/Leader's mentality."
Another fan echoed this:
"We can win the league with Rice as the captain. This captaincy that is floating between Saka and Ō is not helpful."
There are no suggestions that Arteta is considering changing the captain, especially with his side top of the Premier League and Champions League tables. He may well argue that there's no need to change it when he has a team thriving, including Rice, who is behaving like a leader without the captaincy.
Rice is Captain Material and Odegaard Isn't
declan rice
The club's most iconic captain was Tony Adams, known as 'Mr Arsenal' after captaining the North London outfit for 14 seasons. But following him now is Odegaard, whose spell with the armband puts him second on the longest-serving captaincy list of the modern era and in front of Patrick Vieira, who was the leader of Arsene Wenger's Invincibles.
Odegaard is, without doubt, one of the finest ball-playing midfield talents in Europe and can conjure moments of brilliance. But he doesn't possess the passionate personality many desire from their skippers, especially when the going gets tough in a title race.
This was Adams' stance last season, as he suggested the former Real Madrid man couldn't lead a title charge. He said on the Indo Sport podcast:
"To win league titles, you have to be a [Jurgen] Klopp, you have to be a [Alex] Ferguson. You have to lead by example, you have to be a winner, you have to go about your business, and that reflects in your captain. And making Odegaard captain is a reflection of Arteta."
He added that Rice fits the bill:
"And I'm seeing Declan Rice as a captain, but I'm saying to Arteta, 'Come on, step up now. It's your time to be a winning manager, because you're not going to win the league with Odegaard as captain.
Tony Adams, Arsenal
Arteta acknowledged Rice's previous stint as West Ham captain after bringing him to the Emirates two summers ago. But he said, "He doesn't need to wear the armband to feel really connected, really powerful and really important."
There might come a time when Arteta decides to make the 26-year-old his new captain but that seems only likely if Odegaard were to depart. He'll be hoping both players lead the team to the title and are at their best in the trip to Everton on December 20.