Arsenal hope to end captain's curse after confirming Martin Odegaard as skipper

Arsenal have named Martin Odegaard club captain following the winter departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gunners have suffered terrible bad luck in the 21st century when it comes to their skippers.

A trend began to form in 2007 after club captain and all-time goalscorer Thierry Henry joined Barcelona for around £16m after a long flirtation with the Catalan club.

William Gallas took the armband when he became available following the departure of his compatriot.

The French defender was removed as captain by Arsene Wenger after several incidents, including when he sat down in protest at Birmingham City in February 2008.

Cesc Fabregas then became a captain at the age of 21; meaning he was the second youngest player to have the honor in Arsenal history.

Like Henry, Fabregas moved to Barcelona, ​​meaning the role was dropped again after three seasons.

The Emirates' main man, Robin van Persie, was then given the role of skipper, for a campaign before jumping ship and joining arch-rivals Manchester United.

Five Premier League players deprived of the captain's armband like Tyrone Mings

It's safe to say that at this point there was definitely a curse and whoever unhappy soul Wenger decided to choose took a poisoned gift.

That man was Thomas Vermaelen, who joined, you guessed it (or you probably already know), Barcelona after two seasons as skipper.

The curse set in for four years after current manager Mikel Arteta became captain ahead of Per Mertesacker's two-year term as general.

After the Big F*****g German retired, the curse returned, and it kind of got worse.

Laurent Koscielny spent a season as skipper before deciding he wanted to leave, and after years of loyal service it should have been an amicable divorce, but it was far from be the case.

He was a fan favorite in North London, but the manner of his departure did not sit well with supporters. In his Bordeaux announcement video, he ripped off Arsenal's jersey to display his new team colours.

Granit Xhaka, who is still at the club, was named captain after wearing the armband for several months.

Like Gallas, he was stripped of the captaincy. The decision was made by Unai Emery after the Swiss midfielder took off his shirt, threw it on the ground and told the home Emirates fans to fuck off before rushing into the tunnel after being substituted.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named captain until December last year, when he became the second skipper in a row to have his bicep armband ripped off.

This was due to a number of disciplinary lapses and Arteta then decided he had to leave the club, joining Barcelona (you couldn't make that up) on a free transfer.

After the distribution of the armband for the second half of last season, Martin Odegaard was officially named club captain.

A statement from Arsenal reads: "We are delighted to announce that Martin Odegaard has been named our new men's first team captain.

"Odegaard has armband-wearing experience, having captained Norway since March 2021, winning 43 caps for them."

The 23-year-old doesn't seem like the kind of profile to join Barcelona or give the manager no choice but to strip him of the captaincy; so hopefully for Arsenal they now have a long-term skipper who won't cause any drama.