Arsenal name new captain ahead of 2022/23 season

Arsenal have named their new skipper with 23-year-old midfielder now captaining club and country

Martin Odegaard has been named Arsenal’s new captain ahead of the new 2022/23 season.

Odegaard joined Arsenal permanently last season from Real Madrid after an initial 6-month loan spell at the club.

He’s highly-rated by manager Mikel Arteta and was one of the team’s best players last season.

Odegaard was named skipper of the Norwegian national team in March 2021 at the age of 22.

A kid star in his native, Norway, he made his first appearance for the national team at 15 and has had a topsy-turvy career before finding a home in Arsenal.

He was loaned out several times by Real Madrid, having joined the team at 16.

Odegaard skippered Arsenal last season for large spells, especially after the exit of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and the dropping of Alexandre Lacazette last season.

What does Odegaard bring as Arsenal captain?

A level-headed, modern day creative midfielder, Odegaard is expected to be a less vocal leader in the team, but one whose leadership qualities are still boldly evident.

He’s been seen in the past often pointing passing channels and routes to teammates during games and is one who always wants to get involved in game play.

His previous coaches and the current Arsenal coaching crew led by Mikel Arteta respect him for his knowledge of the game and his brilliance off the pitch.

“He certainly has all the qualities to do that, absolutely,” Arteta said of the option of Odegaard becoming captain in February.

“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.”

Former Arsenal captain, Granit Xhaka also had good things to say about the Norwegian and described him as the future of the club.

“He is the future of this club. He’s already captain when Alexandre Lacazette does not play. He can be very proud of himself,” Xhaka told TV2.

“You can see how far he has come in his head, mentally. He is very young, only 23, but in how he behaves and is on the field, he looks like he’s 30. It looks like he has already played 500 or 600 games.

“He can definitely become Arsenal captain. He has the DNA in him. He works as hard every day as if he were in a fight. He does a lot of extra work. He is humble. Everyone in the dressing room listens to him. Why not?

“He is very humble, he is quiet as a person, he is not someone who talks a lot, and he does not talk very loudly. But when he says something, the message comes very clearly to us players. That’s the key. It makes him very special.”