Arsenal Invincible delivers Declan Rice/Martin Odegaard captain verdict after “out of order” Tony Adams comments
Arsenal legend Ray Parlor used a cricket analogy to disagree with Tony Adams’ claim of Declan Rice as captain, in an exclusive interview with Sports mole.
The Gunners entered the new season with Martin Odegaard once again wearing the armband after a team vote, although the decision did not go down well with iconic skipper Tony Adams, who has been hitting out at Rice’s captaincy for the past few months.
The former centre-back claimed in September that Rice was better placed than Odegaard to take Arsenal to title level. comments tagged “out of service” at the time and have since resurfaced on social media.
Rice has only worn the captain’s armband once for Arsenal – against Southampton on the final day of the 2024-25 Premier League season – and Bukayo Saka is currently above his colleague in the skipper pecking order under Mikel Arteta.
Despite his long-standing relationship with Adams, Parlor would not take the armband away from Odegaard as he fears such a move could create discontent in the dressing room.
Ray Parlor disagrees with Tony Adams over Declan Rice/Martin Odegaard claim as Arsenal captain
© Imago / Action Plus
“I don’t think you need to change something like that,” Parlor said. “I can see where Tony Adams is coming from, and he was a great skipper himself. But a captain is not as important a person as in cricket, where you have to make decisions. In football you have to have leaders all over the park.
“Centre forwards who are leaders, central defenders who, if you’re not captain, are leaders. In our team we had six or seven captains. If Declan became captain, he would be a great captain.
“I’m not saying that Odegaard is not a good captain because he brings a lot to the youngsters. He is a great coach, he works hard every day and he is a good role model as a captain.
“But would it bother Odegaard if he suddenly had the captain’s armband taken away? And Declan Rice doesn’t really expect that. He would do a job if given it, but he doesn’t expect it. Is it worth changing him to shake up the dressing room? I wouldn’t go that route.”
How did Mikel Arteta respond to Tony Adams’ comments?
© Imago / Professional sports images
Adams’ comments were submitted to Arteta ahead of the opening match of the 2025-26 Premier League season, and the Arsenal boss claimed his players voted for Odegaard to retain the ‘100-mile’ armband in a unanimous decision.
“My opinion is clear and it’s not just my opinion, it’s that of all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote (for) the captain and I got the result yesterday,” Arteta told the media.
“A mile and a half, a hundred miles away, everyone was picking the same person – Martin Odegaard – which is the clearest sign you can get. It’s what they think about who their captain should be to defend, improve and win the games we want to win, so there’s no doubt about it.
“There is (a vote) every year, especially because we change (personnel) a lot and we change the management groups because a lot of players who were there are now gone.
“So we have to reestablish that and because it gives you so much information, about what they think about themselves and how they see (the captain) as a leader. It was really interesting to analyze all the data and gather information.”
Odegaard will once again wear the captain’s armband for Arsenal when the Gunners take on Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday’s Premier League match, where he will look to build on his disappointing tally of two assists and no goals in 15 appearances this season.
Ray Parlor spoke to Sports mole on behalf of NetBet Sports Betting.