Football: Odegaard won Arsenal captaincy 'by a mile': Mikel Arteta

Manchester, Aug 15 (IANS) After a below-average season for Martin Odegaard, in which he returned after suffering an ankle injury, Mikel Arteta confirmed he will continue to lead Arsenal, after the club voted him to be the captain in the 2025/26 campaign, in which he won ‘by a mile’. Arsenal begin their campaign in their rival country with their Premier League opener against Manchester United to be played at Old Trafford on Sunday.

“It's not just my opinion, it's all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote for the captain, and I got the result yesterday. And by a mile, by a big, big 100 marks, everybody's choosing the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have, how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve, and win the matches that we want to win. So, I mean, there's no question about that,” said Arteta in the pre-game conference.

The coming season could be make or break for Arteta. Despite revolutionising the club from the depths, Arsenal have now finished runner-ups for three consecutive seasons, with the question looming whether the Spaniard can overcome the final hurdle.

Arteta once again mentioned the consistency the club has shown during his time and will once again gear up with the objective of winning in mind.

“You keep digging, digging, digging. You have to keep digging because one day, the gold is going to be there. That's all the time, what I've been taught, I've been educated, and that's it. For three seasons, we have more points than any other team in this league. It’s incredible, that's why we have all the consistency. Now we have to do it in a season, to earn one more point or the same amount of points and more goals than any other team. That’s the objective,” he added.

--IANS

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