Weeks after Tony Adams claims Odegaard must be stripped off Arsenal captaincy, Gunners skipper breaks silence on criticism

Martin Odegaard has responded to iconic former Arsenal skipper Tony Adams' claims regarding his captaincy. Adams, probably the Gunners' greatest captain ever, urged Mikel Arteta to strip Odegaard off the armband last month.

Tony Adams claimed that Declan Rice would be the perfect choice for captaincy for the Gunners. He insisted that Rice is a guaranteed starter throughout the season and would suit the armband more. Adams said, as quoted by The Athletic:

“Every now and again as a manager, you have to put someone who reflects you, who reflects the football club that you think can actually take you to the next level. You’ve got someone in there who’s going to play every game all season, that’s going to encourage people to come in and lay the foundations of a title-winning team. Declan Rice can do that, Odegaard can’t. Come on Arteta, make him captain.”

Martin Odegaard has responded to Adams' claims and commented that he does not care about criticism. The Arsenal skipper has claimed that he cannot let others' opinions affect him. The Norwegian said:

“I don’t care that much, to be honest. Everyone can have their opinion and say what they want, and I’m all right with that. I can’t care about what everyone says. There’s a lot of negative and positive things to say, but I can’t let it affect me. That’s what I’ve thought throughout my career.”

Martin Odegaard joined Arsenal initially on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021 before making his move permanent in the summer. He was named club captain by Mikel Arteta ahead of the 2022-23 season following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette's departures.

The attacking midfielder has so far made 201 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 41 times while producing 38 assists. He was strongly criticised by many due to a dip in form during the last season.

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Arsenal's new summer signing's personal coach compares him to Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal summer recruit Noni Madueke's personal coach has hailed the winger's mentality, comparing it to that of Cristiano Ronaldo. Saul Isaksson Hurst, Madueke's personal coach, has claimed that the former Chelsea winger is training as much as possible.

Isaksson Hurst has hailed the 23-year-old as a mentality monster and backed him to succeed at Arsenal. He told The Sun:

"The big misconception about Noni is his mentality. He’s like a mentality monster. In terms of mentality, I would liken that to Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s so focused and driven in terms of wanting to be the best and wanting to improve. We’ve been away in Marbella for five or six days. I’ve had to force him to have a day off and take a rest in between."

He added:

"He wants to work, he wants to do more, he wants to do the extras. When his peers are partying around the beach clubs in Marbella, he’s on the grass, training with me every day. I can only comment on what I see when he trains with me. I haven’t seen him when he’s with Chelsea, but when he’s been with me, he’s switched on, he works hard, he’s on it.”

Isaksson Hurst concluded:

“That’s water off a duck’s back. He takes that on board and it’s part of the game. That is not going to faze him and he wants to be a success there. Arsenal fans will come to love him, I’m sure. It’s close to the family home so he’s settled. Arsenal’s a massive club and Noni wants to be one of the best players in the world.”

Arsenal fans were evidently not pleased with the club when they signed Madueke from Chelsea this summer in a deal worth a reported £52 million. He has made a decent start to life at the Emirates having started the last two games after coming on from the bench in his first game.

The England international spent only two and a half seasons at Chelsea making 92 appearances and scoring 20 goals while providing nine assists. He enjoyed a solid season in 2024-25 scoring 11 goals and producing five assists in 46 games.