Arsenal: 4 reasons Martin Odegaard should be named captain

These will be the final 16 matches of Alexandre Lacazette’s Arsenal career. They will also mark the end of the captain’s armband being worn by the Frenchmam, and it can safely be said he is someone we can be proud to have represented this football club. Only a few will disagree.

This is a man who demonstrates unwavering devotion to the badge every time he takes to the turf. Leading the team out against Wolves, just like on every other occasion, he battled for every ball, with each action designed to benefit the team, above all else. The discussion of quality is irrelevant in this case.

Off the pitch he is well spoken and professional, while behind the scenes there is not one player who has ever had a bad word to say about him. All we ever hear about Lacazette is how caring, committed and supportive he is. In almost every way, he is the perfect captain.

He is also leaving in just a few short months.

Arsenal: 4 reasons Martin Odegaard should be named captain when Alexandre Lacazette leaves at the end of the season

There was some debate over who deserved to be awarded the armband once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of it, but Mikel Arteta made the right choice in temporarily handing it to Lacazette for the remainder of the season.

With focus firmly on pursuing a top four finish in the Premier League this season there are more pressing matters, and him being the ring bearer until the end of his time in north London before it can be thrown into Mount Doom never to be seen again is logical. Or, perhaps more fittingly, this cursed piece of elasticated material should be destroyed where it was forged: in front of the Tilton Stand at St. Andrew’s.

Like reciting the histories of Henry VIII’s wives, the captaincy throughout the Emirates era tends to conclude either in the holder being stripped of it, leaving for another club or barely playing at all. It’s not had a great run of late.

In letting Lacazette assume the responsibility it has effectively allowed the remainder of the campaign to be a trial period for the others to stake their claim. Who wants it? Who deserves it? Who might have it?

Martin Odegaard should be awarded it. Here is why.

1. He’s Experienced

Is age a factor? As far as Arsenal are concerned, no. The greatest ever captain of this football club was handed the armband at 21 years old and one of the finest players of the Emirates era, Cesc Fabregas, was also given the responsibility at that tender age.

In the case of Cesc his experience stretched to about 200 games in red and white before he took over from William Gallas in 2008. He left not too long after.

As for Odegaard, he’s a senior citizen in comparison at 23 years old, during which time he’s experienced a great deal as a player. Being the name in world football when every club on the planet chased his signature at 15 years old to then having five consecutive seasons out on loan elsewhere, he has experienced the soaring highs of the game as well as the uncertainty of a nomadic life few players, and people, want to experience.

But he’s come through all of that, found his new home, settled in magnificently and used all that he’s learned up until this point to make the player we see today. And that player is someone deemed the right figure to represent his country. Named Norway captain just under one year ago, in a side featuring one of the best players in Europe, is nothing to be scoffed at.

He’s been around the block, played for one of the biggest clubs in the world, been forced to mature at a young age, leads his whole country, and is still only 23 years old.

Continued on next page…

2. He is the Tactical & Technical Leader

When the pandemic forced football to be played behind closed doors it opened up the game in a whole new world to the fans watching on from home. Usually encapsulated by the noise of the crowd, suddenly you could hear each and every voice on the pitch, as well as the relentless barking of orders from Arteta on the sidelines.

While he may have only been at the club on loan at the time, Odegaard stood out as one of the most vocal players in the entire squad. Arsenal’s ‘open mic’ series was a fascinating insight into the on-field hierarchy at Arsenal.

Odegaard is the tactical leader on that pitch just as much as he is the technical leader. Even if the likes of Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Lacazette in front of him, as well as Thomas Partey behind him, it was the Norwegian who was instructing, guiding and leading where his teammates should go, which action to take, and when to push forward.

Always in dialogue with those around him, there is a natural leadership to his style that one wouldn’t normally see befitting of a generally reserved and quiet character off the pitch. His voice may be soft when he’s describing his favourite meal for an Arsenal promotional video but there is nothing laid back about the orders he issues when he crosses that white line.

When he is in full swing, which is a far more regular occurrence now, this feels more like his team. His technical quality and tactical intelligence lead the team by example and by vocality. Everything feels natural with him, and that is a vital quality.

Continued on next page…

3. Martin Odegaard Has the Trust of Arteta and His Teammates

It’s all well and good being a leader on the pitch with your words and your influence on the match itself, but you must have the trust of those around you or else it is all worthless.

Whatever one may think of Odegaard there is no denying that he isn’t one of the more trusted members of this squad. When information needs relaying on the touchline it is the No. 8 who is ushered over by Arteta to pass on tactical notes, and his exceptional technical level sees his teammates often look to him for invention.

"“We have a tremendous player,” Arteta said of him back in December. “He is a natural leader if you look for perfect professional he wouldn’t be very far from that.”"

The role of a captain is often diluted or heralded as something more important than it actually is. Yet trust remains a vital ingredient and it’s noticeable across the whole club what high regard Odegaard is held in.

Equally, the fans trust Odegaard. His loan spell garnered mixed reviews from supporters who saw dashes of brilliance intertwined with slight lulls, similar to the early stages of this season where he took time to find his feet again. But now there is nobody who would even consider not including him in their starting lineup.

He has everyone’s trust.

Continued on next page…

4. Martin Odegaard is Only Going to Get Better

It is impossible to envisage an Arsenal team this season and the seasons to come doesn’t have Odegaard in the No. 10 position. The level he’s found at the club is the best he’s produced to date, and there is no denying that he can and will continue to develop as a player.

Surrounding by youngsters like Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Sambi Lokonga, he, like the rest, will grow as a player and improve with each game he plays.

As much as the key qualities of a captain often relate to matters away from ability, the person wearing the armband ideally has to be someone who is going to be a mainstay in the team. Arteta is a fine example of a former captain whose latter years saw his legs struggle to cope with the demands of the division and he barely played before he hung up his boots.

Odegaard is one of the cornerstones in this new look Arsenal that, barring any remarkable circumstances, will be in the team each and every time he’s available for a healthy number of years.

If all of the above qualities are what they already are, just like his overall game is improving, the others will too. This is a player destined for the very top, one who deserves to be playing Champions League football.

On his and Arsenal’s current trajectory, that isn’t too far away. He should be the one leading them into it.