Declan Rice responds after requires Martin Odegaard to lose Arsenal captaincy
Martin Odegaard has come beneath rising criticism for his performances this season, with some even calling for Mikel Arteta to strip the Norwegian of the Arsenal captaincy
Declan Rice has given his full backing to Martin Odegaard after the Norwegian confronted calls to be stripped of the Arsenal captaincy. Odegaard is in his third season as Gunners skipper after taking up from Alexandre Lacazette.
However he has endured a troublesome marketing campaign which has been badly disrupted by an ankle damage he suffered on worldwide obligation. The midfielder has struggled to recapture his finest type since getting back from that spell on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old hit a recent low level within the Champions League semi-final first leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain final week. He had only one contact within the PSG field, accomplished just one dribble and misplaced 5 of his eight defensive duels earlier than being subbed off.
His poor efficiency on the Emirates Stadium final Tuesday led to calls from some quarters that boss Mikel Arteta strip him of the armband. These calls for have been led by former Liverpool star Mark Lawrenson.
Lawrenson insisted the elimination of the captaincy would enable the Norwegian to focus extra on his on-field contributions. He additionally picked out Rice because the pure alternative for Odegaard.
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“The captain’s armband must be taken away from Martin Ødegaard, so he can get again to specializing in his performances," Lawrenson mentioned final week. "Everyone knows that he’s an excellent participant, however he’s simply had a six out of 10 season.
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“In the event you gave Declan Rice the armband as an alternative, you think about that it wouldn’t have an effect on his performances, particularly contemplating he was captain at West Ham. I’d give it to Rice so Ødegaard can deal with bettering his performances.”
Whereas Lawrenson has backed Rice to take over the captaincy, the England worldwide himself has rejected these calls. As an alternative, he defended Odegaard for his dip in type, insisting he stays the right skipper forward of Wednesday's return leg in Paris.
“Clearly, everybody has dips in type, I’ve had totally different dips in type earlier than,” Rice mentioned. “[But] it doesn’t matter as a result of he can ship on the largest stage, and tomorrow night time I’m certain he’ll.
“We’re prepared and we’re at all times with Martin as a result of he’s one in every of our greatest gamers. He’s our chief, he’s our captain. He trains each single day, he performs each minute of each recreation. He’s among the finest lads I’ve seen away from the pitch when it comes to how he lives his life.
“He’s bought the complete respect of the dressing room, the way in which he calls for, the way in which he drives the staff, the way in which he speaks. You wouldn’t see him as that kind of character, however he actually is behind the scenes.
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“He’s been superb for us and I wouldn’t need anybody else being our captain. I believe the lads really feel the identical means about that as properly.”
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