Obviously any player on the pitch can be the captain, but you tend to associate it with more defensive minded players who are vocal and extremely competitive.
That’s changed in recent years as it often goes to the best player in more of a ceremonial role, but some clubs still have a strong tradition of ensuring the captain is an obvious leader on the pitch.
Arsenal are one of those clubs, and it’s been interesting to hear Mikel Arteta talk about Martin Odegaard as a leader in his press conference today:
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In some ways it’s surprising to hear of Odegaard as a leader because he’s a player who plays the game in such an elegant way, but he’s clearly captain material if he’s taking the armband at international level and receiving such praise from Arteta.
The other reason it’s a surprise to hear Arteta talk about this is because Odegaard is still fairly young and he’s a loanee, so this has to make you think that he sees him as one of his leaders going forward if a permanent deal can be tied up.
A report earlier today spoke about Odegaard and the chances of him returning to Arsenal after the loan spell, and it was suggested that the player himself is pushing for that to happen after enjoying his start to live at The Emirates.
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One of his biggest problems in Madrid is they just don’t see him as a regular starter in the team, so these comments from Arteta really do point to something happening here.
If Odegaard is seen as leadership material then it’s obvious that he would be a key part of the Arsenal setup for years to come, so everything is pointing to a permanent move at this point.