Mikel Arteta has praised Martin Odegaard for having all the qualities needed to captain Arsenal one day.
The Gunners are currently being captained by Alexandre Lacazette, who took over the armband in December when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of it.
Aubameyang has since left for Barcelona and, while Lacazette is expected to lead Arsenal for the rest of the season, in the long run the club needs a new skipper.
The likes of Ben White, Gabriel and Kieran Tierney have been linked with the post, but Arteta has revealed Odegaard could be an option one day.
“He certainly has all the qualities to do that, absolutely,” said Arteta.
“Talking to his national team coach and how highly they speak of him. He walks through the corridor and everybody loves him.
“He is such a nice, humble guy and he leads with the way he is. It is very natural for him and that will come.”
Odegaard spent the second half of last season on loan at Arsenal and he impressed enough that the club moved to sign him permanently.
The Gunners eventually parted with around £30million to sign the Norwegian from Real Madrid and Arteta has admitted the midfielder was a vital signing.
“Well we had a period with him where we could evaluate what Martin could bring to the club,” he said. “We had no doubts.
“The club was brilliant to secure him in a really convincing way. Martin was really happy to join us because he had a really good time, he felt valued, he enjoyed what we are doing, he got a really good connection with the players and the supporters.
“He wanted to be part of the project. Since then he is getting better and better, and I am not surprised.
“The way he lives his profession, the way he likes to play football and everything he does is to become better. He has still a big margin. He wants it probably more than anyone else on that pitch, every single day. He will be top top.
“He generated expectations when he was 16 as well. Everybody wanted him.
“And then he had to fulfil that in a club like Madrid, where the competition is like it is. It is extremely difficult but now he has found his place.
“He is really happy here, he has the environment. He has the people, he has the time on the pitch to enjoy it and I think that is what he is doing.”
