talkSPORT host Jason Cundy believes Arsenal may have a leadership problem on their hands.
Martin Odegaard is the Gunners’ captain, but the former Chelsea defender questioned whether he is the right man to wear the armband.
Instead, Cundy feels Declan Rice is a more suitable candidate to lead the Gunners.
But former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara vehemently disagreed as a heated debate erupted on talkSPORT’s The Sports Bar after the Gunners were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.
Cundy asked: “Who would you rather look up to, Rice or Odegaard?”
O’Hara replied: “Who cares who’s got the armband on? It doesn’t make a big difference. A load of rubbish.”
But Cundy disagreed and cited Odegaard’s notable dip in performance levels this season as a key reason why his captaincy could be called into question, although he acknowledged the Norwegian has had his injury struggles.
O’Hara responded: “You can’t take the armband off him, he’s the captain.”
Cundy hit back and declared Rice ‘is the leader’ for the Gunners.
O’Hara acknowledged that may be the case, ‘but he’s not the captain.’
“Odegaard’s the captain,” O’Hara said.
“Unless you’re getting rid of the player, you don’t take the armband off him.”
talkSPORTCundy and O’Hara butted heads over Odegaard remaining as Arsenal’s skipper[/caption]
The duo disagreed on the notion Odegaard could have the captaincy taken away as Cundy explained it could be the difference that elevates Arsenal from contender to champion status.
“That’s the decision you’ve got to make if Arsenal want to be winners,” Cundy said.
O’Hara replied: “But then you’re killing his leadership qualities.”
Cundy reminded his co-host he questioned whether Odegaard even deserved to start, only for O’Hara to respond: “I said it’s up for debate. If he’s not playing well, you take him off. But it doesn’t mean he’s not the captain.”
Ultimately, Cundy conceded he ‘couldn’t care less’ about who will wear the armband going forward for Arsenal.
“But if I was Mikel Arteta, I would consider giving Rice the armband,” Cundy concluded.
talkSPORTRice and Odegaard’s respective Premier League stats make for interesting reading[/caption]
Odegaard was installed as Arsenal’s captain in July 2022, having been at the Emirates Stadium for just a season-and-a-half prior to the honour.
He first joined the club on a six-month loan in January 2021 from Real Madrid before the Gunners made the switch permanent in the very next window.
The Norwegian flourished in his first season with the skipper’s armband as he registered an impressive 15 goals and seven assists in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
He followed that up with eight goals and 11 assists in the 2023/24 campaign as Arsenal recorded back-to-back runners’-up finishes in the top flight.
However, Odegaard has only nine goal contributions in the league this term as his season was derailed by an ankle sprain suffered while on international duty in September.
It means the 26-year-old is on course for his lowest Premier League goal tally since he joined Arsenal on a permanent basis.
