Declan Rice has been having a tremendous season for Arsenal. The English midfielder has been bossing games and carrying Arsenal on his back as the Gunners lead the Premier League, firmly in charge of the title race.
Rice has been on a tear this season, controlling games, keeping the team ticking, winning possession, and then launching attacks, all while partaking in campaigns like promoting Marty Supreme for Timothee Chalamet. If that wasn’t enough, he has also become the best set-piece taker in the league by a wide margin.
His corner kicks are a thing of beauty and almost always guarantee a goal every game.
With the way Rice has been leading the team, coupled with captain Martin Odegaard’s poor 2025 and injury-ridden start to the season, there has been a lot of speculation among Arsenal fans on Football Twitter regarding who is the real captain and who deserves to hold the armband.
Moreover, fans have also been speculating on Odegaard’s importance and how he is probably viewed in the dressing room.
Declan Rice, who has long been a huge backer of Odegaard, has repeatedly reiterated Odegaard’s importance in the dressing room and his capabilities as a leader.
When Odegaard was facing a similar situation in May of this year, Rice publicly backed Odegaard as their captain and leader amid growing criticism and calls that he doesn’t have the respect of the dressing room.
“He’s incredible. He’s our leader, he’s our captain.
He’s got the full respect of the dressing room – the way he demands, the way he drives the team, the way he speaks. We would not want anyone else being our captain.”
Odegaard’s troubles have carried over to the 2025-26 season as he has been unable to recapture the form that made him one of the best creative midfielders in the league.
Unlike most traditional captains, Odegaard isn’t the most vocal player as he leads the team with his actions rather than through his words.
However, with his tendency to disappear in big matches where Arsenal need a creative spark, fans and pundits alike have started questioning Odegaard as “captaincy material.
Earlier in September, former Arsenal legend Tony Adams questioned Odegaard’s role publicly, even suggesting that Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, should consider making Declan Rice the captain instead.
“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.
Declan is my kind of captain and what it might do is free up Martin Odegaard to play with more freedom.
You’ve got someone in there that is going to play every game and lay the foundations of a title-winning team. Declan Rice can do that, Odegaard can’t. Come on Arteta, make him captain.”
While Odegaard brushed off the criticism, it gave fans impetus to turn every match into a debate over whether Odegaard deserves to remain as captain or if Declan Rice should usurp him.
If we ask Rice, he made his intentions known with the recent celebration against Brighton.
In a must-win game, Odegaard delivered his best performance of the season, creating 5 chances and opening the scoring in the 14th minute to give Arsenal the lead.
The celebration was revealing as Declan Rice, celebrated wildly, even pointing at Odegaard and telling the fans and critics that this is our captain.
Rice pointing to Odegaard saying that’s our Captain 👨✈️ pic.twitter.com/R2XHtrPCz2
— Forever Arsenal (@ArsenalN10) December 27, 2025
Arsenal fans on Football Twitter were overjoyed at not just the win that kept them above Manchester City in the table, but also over the captaincy gesture from Rice, who played Right Back due to a late injury to Calafiori.
@TomCantonMedia: Worth noting how Declan Rice celebrated Odegaard’s goal. Making the point that Odegaard is very much “the man”. Won’t silence those determined to keep making the captaincy talk a thing but a good first-hand retort to them.
@scrapytweets: That Rice celebration with Odegaard just ends the captaincy debates. I’m sorry, y’all fought on this app for no reason
@astroventure2: Yesterday was a CAPTAIN’S performance. We need to see the same from Ø more regularly. Wonderful all round. Needs to get back his shooting boots from 22/23 – 23/24.
@WelBeast: In case you forgot who the captain of this football club is, Declan Rice is here to remind you.
@JCTPL1: dec has always backed odegaard, pretty sure there’s something of him backing odegaard majorly as captain when their was questions about his performance. the two leaders of the squad by a mile
@VincentBassey11: Odegardd is that man Skipper with everything there is
@leafricangooner: There aren’t many Arsenal players I have loved more than Declan Rice in my lifetime. It’s an absolute honour to have this footballer at our club.
@bareejeste: Declan Rice, by the way. The first CDM ever to play RB, CB, and RCM elite intelligence, elite engine. What a player.
@ClockEndH: Declan Rice Passing, tackles, aerial, short passing, long passing, dead ball free kicks, long range shooting, short range passing, long throw, direct free kicks, 1v1, channel defending, pressing, box to box, CM, 8, DM, CB, RB He stands alone. World class footballer. MOTM
@mariEscobarPME: Declan Rice… I’ve ran out of worlds to describe him. Complete new position and bossed the game. Odegaard… Looked back to his best, elite playmaking and ran the show. Hope he can keep that up now as at his best he’s amongst the best in the world.
However, not all fans were happy as many of them argued that one good performance from Odegaard does not make him captaincy material and Rice is still deserving of the captaincy.
@WWaldt74148: Love Ö and love the goal but only one person in this teams plays like he doesn’t want to be second again. He doesn’t have to be the Captain but Rice is the heart and engin of this team. If he gets injured we done because alot of heads will drop.
@KennzySaint: Declan is the captain without the band . Odegard captains the team
@win_your_duels: Can people like you leave with him when He eventually leaves?? First meaningful contribution in god knows how long; and all you can think of is shushing GENUINE criticism. 2026 Arsenal don’t need the same Captain that 2021 Arsenal did. How thick can you be to not get that ?
@ClockwerkElf: Why do you think this means anything? Obviously Rice gonna support a fellow player. Doesn’t change the fact that Oddegard isnt a leader and Rice is the real captain on the pitch. Oddegard played well though.
@Rob24630552: Odegaard was the man needs to pass that mantle to Rice or Gabriel so we can go onto silverware
@JamesDe27575116: He wears the armband but everyone knows our real captain is Rice
What do you make of the Rice-Odegaard debate? Do you think Rice deserves to be the Arsenal captain over Odegaard? Let us know in the comments section.
