There has been a fair amount of debate surrounding the captaincy at Arsenal this season.
Question marks have arisen as to whether Martin Odegaard is the right candidate to be wearing the armband for the Gunners, especially given his recent performances.
Meanwhile, Declan Rice has been performing both on and off the pitch with several superb performances and his ability to talk well to the media after matches.
After the midfielder’s winning goal against Newcastle United to secure Champions League qualification, there has been a strong debate about whether the former West Ham man should replace the Norwegian as captain.
Alan Smith on the Arsenal captaincy debate
Alan Smith has waved away suggestions that Declan Rice should replace Martin Odegaard as captain of Arsenal.
The Gunners’ former striker claims that Odegaard, whose performances have been questioned, is still a ‘good leader’ and a player with experience who is more than good enough to be captain.
When asked whether Rice should replace Odegaard as captain, Smith told Stadium Astro: “I think you can think too hard about that. In other countries, they just give it to the most senior player, they don’t put so much attention on it.
“Everybody does their bit and they do their bit in different ways – so it doesn’t really matter who wears the armband. Odegaard is a good leader, he’s a statesman and speaks well. Declan does too, so I don’t think it’s an issue.”
Alan Smith names Arsenal’s four leaders
Smith has also claimed that Arsenal now have a strong leadership group at the football club with the likes of Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba – the four who often take on that responsibility.
Smith added: “I think Arsenal have been accused down the years of not having enough leaders and I think they have more now.
“Odegaard leads in a different way, but they’ve got Declan, Gabriel at the back, Saliba – they’ve got a lot of players who do take that responsibility and that’s important.”
