Mikel Arteta urges replacement of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard with 'brilliant character' after celebration controversy
Arsenal have a 'leader' ready and should be named captain in place of Martin Odegaard, according to Gunners legend Emmanuel Petit.
The French World Cup winner has asked manager Mikel Arteta to hand the armband to a new player despite the huge investment from the north London club. 3-1 victory on the table Liverpool.
The victory took Arsenal two points behind the league leaders and sees them level on points with Man City.
And the Frenchman praised England international Declan Rice for his midfield role in that success.
Speaking to Compare.bet, Petit said: “Arsenal won the game thanks to the midfield.
“It was the key to the performance and they dominated the midfield physically, technically and tactically.
“Jorginho and Rice were absolutely brilliant.”
Focusing on Rice, the former Premier League champion made it clear that he would prefer the former West Ham star to captain the team ahead of Odegaard.
Naming the defensive midfielder as one of Arsenal's two best players alongside Bukayo Saka, Petit argued: “He should be Arsenal's captain for me.
He continued: “He has such a brilliant character and is a leader.
“He has something different from the rest of the players and is very influential in important games.”
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Petit praised the current Arsenal captain less Martin Odegaardwho has drawn criticism recently for celebrating the Gunners' victory over Liverpool too much in the eyes of some.
The Norway international snapped a photograph of club photographer Stuart Macfarlane on the pitch at full-time, with Petit branding Odegaard's post-match antics “bizarre”.
He then urged the group of players not to let the result go to their heads, observing: “You just won a game, it's only three points. Don't worry.”
“You have to be careful. There are still 15 games left and they were acting as if they had won the league.”
Despite this, the fan favorite was thrilled with the final result and praised the atmosphere as “electric”, which he attributed to the impact of the club's “great coach”.
Petit insisted the north London side: “We have to make sure Arteta stays,” as the Gunners boss remains. linked with a movement elsewhere.
