Mikel Arteta responds to Tony Adams' dig at Martin Odegaard and confirms Arsenal captain

Martin Odegaard won the dressing room vote to carry on as captain by a landslide to quell the first hint of discord among Arsenal royalty. On the eve of the new season, former Gunners skipper Tony Adams - who lifted 10 major trophies for the club - rocked the boat by telling manager Mikel Arteta to strip Odegaard of the armband and hand it to England midfielder Declan Rice.

But Arteta steadied the ship by revealing the Norwegian he appointed as captain three years ago still enjoyed overwhelming support among his team-mates to toss the coin and shake hands with referees before kick-off. So instead of a potential spat between a Gunners legend and the encumbent manager fighting to break a five-year trophy drought, the mood has quickly turned from potential feud to unity.

Arteta did not answer Adams’ populist call for Rice to call the tune directly, but he revealed: “My opinion is clear and it's not just my opinion - it's all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote (for) the captain and I got the result yesterday.

“By a mile away, by a big, big 100 miles, everybody was choosing the same person - Martin Odegaard - which is the most clear sign that you can have. It's how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win, so there’s no question about that.

“There is (a vote) every year especially because we change (personnel) a lot and we change the leadership groups because a lot of the players that were there are now gone.

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“So we need to re-establish that and because it gives you so much information, how they feel about themselves and how they see (the captain) as a leader. It was really interesting to analyse all the data and to gather information.”

On Adams’ differing opinion, Arteta said: “Yeah, we all see it different and if we're going to talk about leadership we can be here for hours. What matters the most is how these guys feel about who needs to lead them, how they feel comfortable, who is going to push them, who is going to give them support when it's happening.

“Basically, who do you want to represent the club and the team when we go out there and face any opposition? That's the key. Martin has got hundreds of qualities and everybody that has come across him will notice them very quickly.

“The biggest one is that to be named captain, to be respected and especially admired by somebody, he doesn't need to open his mouth. That's a massive quality.

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“A lot of people talk and shout and then when you close the door they do something very different. Martin doesn't need to open his mouth and everybody will go, 'He's my captain, I want him to represent me, I trust him 100 per cent, he's the guy I want to have next to me.’ That's it in my opinion.”

While Odegaard will lead Arsenal up the tunnel again, all eyes will be on £64million striker Viktor Gyokeres as he begins life as a Premier League footballer against Manchester United, who were widely expected to sign him before their horror season finished empty-handed.

Arteta said: “We are going to Old Trafford but Arsenal is the perfect stage for him to show what he can do. He was on the radar of out recruitment department for a long time, but the reality is that you have to have a place in the team.

“Now the time has come, he was available and we decided to bring him in. We analysed the player like we do for any signing - the things we like about a player and the many aspect that need to come together, and we are super-happy that it’s Viktor.”

Arteta believes the prolific Swede’s years learning his trade at Brighton, where he barely got a look-in, and Coventry will give him a head start in coping with the physicality of English football. He said: “I think it helps when you have experienced the country, the culture, the passion, the style of play, the physical demands, the intensity, the referees - there are a lot of things he has tasted here before.

“He’s gone away to play in a different league, adapted to it and been very prolific. You can see from his body language, the way he talks, the way he carries himself, that he’s a very confident boy and he will do very well for us.

“His time at Brighton was probably the most important part of his career, when he had to accept a different role and evaluate areas where he had to improve. That’s the moment that gave him a platform and he took it to a different level.”

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