Declan Rice responds after calls for Martin Odegaard to lose Arsenal captaincy

Declan Rice has given his full backing to Martin Odegaard after the Norwegian faced calls to be stripped of the captaincy. Odegaard is in his third season as Gunners skipper after taking over from Alexandre Lacazette.

But he has endured a difficult campaign which he suffered on international duty. The midfielder has struggled to recapture his best form since returning from that spell on the sidelines.

The 26-year-old hit a fresh low point in the semi-final first leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last week. He had just one touch in the box, completed only one dribble and lost five of his eight defensive duels before being subbed off.

His poor performance at the Emirates Stadium last Tuesday led to calls from some quarters that boss strip him of the armband. Those demands were led by former star Mark Lawrenson.

Lawrenson insisted the removal of the captaincy would allow the Norwegian to focus more on his on-field contributions. He also picked out Rice as the natural replacement for Odegaard.

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“The captain’s armband should be taken away from Martin Ødegaard, so he can get back to focusing on his performances," Lawrenson said last week. "We all know that he’s a good player, but he’s just had a six out of 10 season.

“If you gave the armband instead, you imagine that it wouldn’t affect his performances, especially considering he was captain at . I’d give it to Rice so Ødegaard can focus on improving his performances.”

While Lawrenson has backed Rice to take over the captaincy, the England international himself has rejected those calls. Instead, he defended Odegaard for his dip in form, insisting he remains the perfect skipper ahead of Wednesday's return leg in Paris.

“Obviously, everyone has dips in form, I’ve had different dips in form before,” Rice said. “[But] it doesn’t matter because he can deliver on the biggest stage, and tomorrow night I’m sure he will.

“We’re ready and we’re always with Martin because he’s one of our best players. He’s our leader, he’s our captain. He trains every single day, he plays every minute of every game. He’s one of the best lads I’ve seen away from the pitch in terms of how he lives his life.

“He’s got the full respect of the dressing room, the way he demands, the way he drives the team, the way he speaks. You wouldn’t see him as that type of character, but he really is behind the scenes.

“He’s been amazing for us and I wouldn’t want anyone else being our captain. I think the lads feel the same way about that as well.”

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