Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand believes Martin Odegaard's performances could suffer after being handed the Arsenal captaincy and questioned two other Gunners' stars.
Mikel Arteta's side got off to a winning start in the Premier League after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 at Selhurst Park. New signings Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus had an instant impact for the Gunners as they now turn their attentions to the clash against Leicester this weekend.
Martin Odegaard was selected as the club's new captain for the 2022/23 season with Arteta believing it was the 'right call' to name the Norwegian playmaker as the new leading man at the club. Ferdinand admitted he thinks the pressure of being captain could have a negative impact on Odegaard's performances, whilst questioning two other Arsenal stars following the opening weekend of Premier League fixtures.
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Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube show, the former United man discussed Odegaard, Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus following the win over Palace. "I reckon you nailed it with Odegaard, I reckon that captain’s armband weighs heavy," said one of Ferdinand’s fellow pundits.
The former United star replied: "Yep! Heavy! I said that in the group chat. It could be a different Odegaard this year."
Turning his attention to Arsenal's midfield area, Ferdinand added: "I just worry about your central midfield. Xhaka hasn’t shown that he can be relied upon for long periods consistently. Partey, is he going to be fit? Is he going to be there in that sense?"
The Gunners are thought to be interested in signing a new central midfielder this summer as Arteta looks to add competition in that area of his squad. football.london understands Arsenal are interested in signing Youri Tielemans, but talks over a deal have stalled in recent weeks.
Ferdinand was full of praise for Arsenal after the way they started the match against Palace and was blown away by Gabriel Jesus’ display despite the Brazilian not scoring on his official debut.
The BT Sport pundit said: "First half they were really good. Jesus was a joke. Jesus was unreal first half. I still want him to be much more of a number nine though, I don’t want him coming with his back to play because I want him to get goals – he’s in my Fantasy Football team!
"Arsenal in the first 25 minutes, I was thinking: 'Woah! Arsenal look on it!' And then Aaron Ramsdale was probably the catalyst for a bit of a nervy end to the half and then second half I was thinking: 'Right this looks like Arsenal again'.
"All of a sudden Palace are going to turn the screw, with the fans there, they’re going to get a result. But what I will say is they ground it out and got through it by hook or by crook."
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