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Piers Morgan Urges Mikel Arteta to Make Declan Rice Arsenal Captain
Outspoken journalist and vocal Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan has urged Mikel Arteta to strip Martin Odegaard of the captaincy and give it to a “real leader.” The 60-year-old has caused a stir with his comments, but his suggestion for who should wear the armband instead might actually make some sense.
A 3-1 win over Bayern Munich in midweek proved once again just how good Arsenal have become under Arteta this season, with the club sitting top of both the Champions League and the Premier League. Right now, it feels like everything in north London is turning to gold, and there’s little – if anything – to complain about.
Perhaps the only concern for the fanbase is that the club has, once again, had more than their fair share of injuries. Gabriel is currently out for more than a month, while Odegaard has already suffered two setbacks this term, causing him to miss 13 matches in the 2025/26 campaign so far.
Piers Morgan Encourages Arsenal Captaincy Change
His worrying injury record, exacerbated by Arsenal’s questionable mentality issues in previous seasons, gives Morgan good reason to believe the Norwegian international isn’t as deserving of a captain as some of Arteta’s other personnel. The journalist has called on Declan Rice, instead, to take the reins, as he wrote on X (see the full post below):
“Declan Rice captained Arsenal for the first time last night, albeit only for a few minutes. I say this with no disrespect to Martin Odegaard, a wonderful player and great guy, but Declan Rice should now be our club captain. He’s our real leader, and we all know it.”
Declan Rice’s Leadership Qualities Are Difficult To Ignore
Rice was West Ham’s captain when they won the Europa Conference League in the 2022/23 season – his final match before completing a club-record £105 million move to Arsenal. Meanwhile, his 72 England caps by the age of 26 offer further proof of just how much experience he already has.
One of the few nailed-on constants for both club and country, the box-to-box midfielder can do just about anything in Arsenal’s ongoing push for a first Premier League title in over two decades – whether it’s a goal-line clearance or a last-minute strike from outside the box. It’s hard to overlook his qualities as a natural leader.
Named by Thomas Tuchel as one of four players in England’s leadership group ahead of the 2026 World Cup, it feels like only a matter of time before Rice’s club manager considers him ahead of Odegaard.
