**At a Glance:**
* Gabriel Martinelli has praised an Arsenal player’s leadership qualities.
* The Brazilian says the man in question has behaved like a captain since before he was even added to Mikel Arteta’s leadership group.
**Gabriel Martinelli has revealed that a player in Arsenal’s squad has always acted like a captain despite only recently being added to Mikel Arteta’s leadership group.**
[The Gunners are on the brink of a historic season](https://readarsenal.com/2026/04/21/arsenal-premier-league-title-race-run-in-analysis), with both the Premier League and Champions League firmly in their sights. That said, recent performances and results have started to spiral, as Arteta’s side have started to look as though they’re wilting under the pressure.
Just one win in their last six matches across all competitions isn’t a good indicator ahead of the rest of the campaign, and the Spanish manager will be seriously concerned about his team’s prospects. However, the divisive tactician will be able to rest assured to an extent, with one or two of his key players stepping up and taking control with their authoritative characters.
* **READ MORE:** [Arsenal’s record with and without Bukayo Saka revealed](https://readarsenal.com/2026/04/25/arsenal-record-without-bukayo-saka-revealed)
Declan Rice arrived at Arsenal as a £100 million player, and thus, it’s no surprise that he’s developed into a significant figure in the Gunners’ dressing room over time.
Many have called for Rice to take over from Martin Odegaard as the North London club’s skipper, and while Arteta is never likely to sanction this whilst the Norwegian is still in N5, the coach has entertained increasing the former West Ham man’s responsibilities at the Emirates.
Rice has worn the captain’s armband on a handful of occasions in recent months. For this reason, it’s no surprise that Martinelli has waxed lyrical about the player’s personality, whilst also revealing that the England international ascended into a leadership role before he’d officially been added to it.
“He was captain at West Ham as well, so everyone just loves him and he’s a good character in the dressing room,” the Brazilian told Sky Sports football.
“On the pitch as well, what he does for us is just crazy, and yeah I mean, even before when he wasn’t one of the captains, everyone was considering him one of them.
“Everyone can see from the outside the way that he plays and the way that he is with us, supporting every single player on the pitch. The way he tracks back and the way he tries to regain the ball – for me, he’s a complete player.”
Odegaard may be Arsenal’s technical leader on the pitch, but Rice is the de facto captain. The Englishman is regularly seen barking orders at his teammates, leading team huddles and facing up the media in interviews.
Whenever Odegaard does eventually leave, if Rice is still at the club, he’ll step up and replace the ex-Real Madrid wonderkid. The fact that Rice has seemingly usurped Gabriel Magalhaes in the captain pecking order speaks volumes.
Gabriel showed ill-discipline with his conduct away at the Etihad in an altercation with Erling Haaland, which easily could have resulted in his dismissal in such a big game. This wasn’t captain-like behaviour, and perhaps showed why the Brazilian cannot assume this role moving foward.
Rice isn’t overstimulated in the big moments and consistently shows that he can deal with the pressure – this is why he stands the greatest chance of succeeding Odegaard.