Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard has emerged as a potential candidate to become the Gunners’ new captain this summer.
Mikel Arteta’s side are on the lookout for a new skipper after a significant turnover of captains in recent years. Last season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of the club’s captaincy for disciplinary reasons prior to leaving for Barcelona in January.
Alexandre Lacazette was given the captaincy following Aubameyang’s removal but Arsenal are once again on the lookout for a player to wear the armband as the striker is leaving this summer to return to Lyon. Norway skipper and former Real Madrid prospect Odegaard has been touted as a potential successor for Lacazette and footage of him on international duty suggests giving him the armband may be a smart move.
During Norway’s 2-1 win at Scandinavian rivals Sweden on Sunday night - during which Manchester City signing Erling Haaland scored both goals for the visitors - footage on Reddit emerged of Odegaard getting frustrated with one of his teammates for not paying attention.
When the ball went out following a tackle from Birger Meling on an opponent, the defender spoke to the Swedish player as the two of them walked in towards the penalty box and the hosts got ready to take a corner.
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However, Odegaard intervened, shouting at Meling to get him to mark the short corner, showing he is not afraid to assert his authority on players older than him. Odegaard captained Norway to a second win in as many games this month to put them top of Group 4 of League B in the UEFA Nations League.
In their opening game of the campaign, Haaland scored in a 1-0 win away at Serbia before netting twice in the victory over Sweden. Norway have two more games to go in this month’s round of international fixtures, hosting Slovenia on Thursday night before a return meeting with Sweden in Oslo on Sunday.
In the win over Sweden, Odegaard earned his 41st international cap, having made his debut for the senior side at the age of 16. Now 23, Odegaard already has well over 300 senior appearances for club and country to his name.
First joining Arsenal in 2021 on loan from Real Madrid for the second half of the 2020/21 campaign, Odegaard scored twice in 20 appearances before being signed permanently by the Gunners for €35million (£29.9m) last year.
In the 2021/22 season, Odegaard scored seven goals in 40 appearances in all competitions for Arteta’s side, helping them qualify for next season’s Europa League.
