“He has such a brilliant character” - Emmanuel Petit tells Arsenal to replace Martin Odegaard with 25-year-old star as club captain

Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit believes midfielder Declan Rice needs to replace Martin Odegaard as club captain.

The England international has been extremely influential since joining the Gunners from West Ham United in the summer for a reported €116.60 million. He's bagged three goals and assists each in 32 appearances from a deep-lying midfield position.

Rice was pivotal yet again for Arsenal as they registered a 3-1 victory over Liverpool on Sunday (February 4). He and his midfield partner Jorginho seemed to control the proceedings. On the night, he won 50% of his ground duels and delivered four accurate long balls from five attempts.

Speaking after this match, Petit said in an interview with gambling platform Compare.bet (via The Sun):

"Arsenal won the game because of the midfield. It was the key to the performance and they dominated the midfield physically, technically and tactically. Jorginho and Rice were both absolutely brilliant."

He continued:

“What is there left to say about Declan Rice? He should be captain for me. He has such a brilliant character and he is a leader. He has something different to the rest of the players and is so influential in big games.”

Martin Odegaard took over as skipper before the start of the 2022/23 season and nearly led the Gunners to the league title last year. They finished five points behind Manchester City in the end after leading the race for 248 days.

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Paul Merson names his favorites for Premier League title after Arsenal beat Liverpool

Paul Merson

Pundit Paul Merson believes Manchester City are favorites to win the Premier League this year after Arsenal's 3-1 win against Liverpool. The Gunners are third and level on points with the second-placed Cityzens, while both clubs are two short of leaders Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta's team and Liverpool have, however, played a game more than the current European champions. Providing his take on the title race, Merson said (via Football London):

"But I don't see who beats Man City to the title. They have missed probably the best player in the league Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland has also been out. That's a worry at best for the others. City are on for the treble again."

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne started a league fixture for the first time in their 3-1 win against Brentford on Monday (February 5) since the opening weekend. Manchester City host Everton next on Saturday (February 10).

Liverpool play on Saturday as well, with Burnely coming to Anfield, while Arsenal are away at West Ham on Sunday (February 11).