Tony Adams slams Arteta again over blatant Arsenal leadership blunder | OneFootball

Tony Adams has hit out at Mikel Arteta again over his refusal to address the glaring lack of leadership at Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s potentially title-defining showdown against Manchester City.

The Gunners head into Sunday’s pivotal Premier League clash at Etihad Stadium having won only one of their last five games in competitions, saving their worst form for the crunch part of the campaign.

Victory for City would cut Arsenal‘s lead at the top of the Premier League table to just three points, while Pep Guardiola’s men also still have a game in hand of their rivals.

And Gunners legend Adams, who made over 650 appearances for the club, pointed to the dynamic between Guardiola and current City skipper Bernardo Silva as a major factor in the significant momentum shift in the title race.

Silva has upped his level to inspire those around him at a critical stage of the campaign, while Arsenal’s own captain, Martin Odegaard, has been conspicuous by his absence as injuries continue to hamper the Norwegian.

Odegaard is expected to be part of the matchday squad at City, although it’s unclear how much game time he will be afforded.

In any case, Adams, who led Arsenal to four league titles during his 19-year career in north London, believes Odegaard would be far more suited having the captaincy burden taken off him to allow his game to flourish again.

Indeed, he took aim at Gunners boss Arteta for holding a vote and asking his players to select their leader in the first place.

Adams said: “After I made the comment about Odegaard before the start of the season, Arteta went to the players and said: ‘Who do you want as captain?’

“And they all went…well, they’re not going to say it to him, are they? They said: ‘We love Odegaard. Hooray.

“Why do you need the manager then? You pick your captain, you get your rapport, you have got your vice-captains and stuff and you create a bond.

“I look at Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva in the Carabao Cup Final win over Arsenal and you can see an instant chemistry there.

“There was a leader. He was there if there’s a problem. I didn’t see the same with Arsenal.

“I didn’t see Arteta going: ‘Right, we’re ten minutes into the second half. We’re struggling and we can’t get out, the left back’s out.

“When I said the stuff about Odegaard at the start of the season, I thought he just needed the freedom to go and play without the extra stuff added.

‘”And I think Declan is a super leader and super player, and I’ve said, I feel that he should be Arsenal captain anyway.”