Martin Odegaard said he did not let criticism from former Arsenal captain Tony Adams affect him.

Adams made remarks that Mikel Arteta should give the Arsenal captaincy to Declan Rice instead of Odegaard to take the Gunners “to the next level”.

Odegaard was given the armband by Arteta ahead of the 2022-23 season, a year after he was also named skipper of the Norwegian national team.

The midfielder has led the Gunners to three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League, while also helping them reach the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.

Ahead of the current campaign, Arteta revealed that Odegaard won a captaincy vote within the club “by 100 miles”.

Odegaard took pride in winning that vote and did not give much thought to Adams’ comments.

“We voted for it. Ultimately, it was [Arteta’s] choice anyway. But it was a nice confirmation for me,” said Odegaard.

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“I don’t care that much, to be honest. Everyone can have their opinion and say what they want, and I’m all right with that. I can’t care about what everyone says.

“There’s a lot of negative and positive things to say, but I can’t let it affect me. That’s what I’ve thought throughout my career.”

Odegaard has scored 34 goals and registered 32 assists in 155 Premier League matches for Arsenal.

During their 6-0 win over West Ham in the 2023-24 season, Odegaard became the first player on Opta record (since 2003-04) to complete 100+ passes (107), create at least five chances (seven) and assist multiple goals (two) in a single Premier League match.