Rio Ferdinand says Arsenal have a player who could easily replace Martin Odegaard as captain

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Arsenal were incredible against Sporting CP on Tuesday evening as they ran out 5-1 winners in the Champions League.

The Gunners had five different goalscorers on the day, and every player, to a man, was brilliant.

Speaking on TNT Sports after the game, Rio Ferdinand reserved some special praise for Bukayo Saka.

Saka has received plenty of priase so far this season, and now, Ferdinand has joined the adoring masses.

The pundit says that Saka is one of Arsenal’s most important players, and, more pertinently, he has transformed into a true leader at the Emirates.

Indeed, Ferdinand hailed Saka’s leadership abilities, claiming that he could easily be the Arsenal captain.

• READ MORE: Bukayo Saka shares how he feels about Martin Odegaard being back for Arsenal

Bukayo Saka could easily be Arsenal captain

Ferdinand spoke about Saka’s leadership abilities and his consistency.

Saka is a part of Arsenal’s leadership group, and Ferdinand believes he could be the club captain.

“We’ve talked about how much Arsenal missed Odegaard, but let’s not undercut or undervalue the importance of Bukayo Saka,” Ferdinand said.

“He had the armband at the end there, he could be Arsenal captain without a shadow of a doubt. He doesn’t need the armband, he’s a leader in this team already. He wants the ball, he wants to make something happen. His consistency is through the roof.”

Arsenal’s record with Bukayo Saka as captain

Ferdinand says that Saka could be the captain of Arsenal, and he’s not wrong.

Saka has become more of a leader at Arsenal, and he has captained the side on a few occasions.

However, Saka’s record as the captain of Arsenal isn’t actually all that great.

Two wins from five games as captain is a concerning stat, but, of course, this can be explained.

Saka being captain does, by its very nature, mean that Arsenal are fielding a depleted team.

Indeed, the fact that Saka would be wearing the armband means that Martin Odegaard wouldn’t be playing, and, as we’ve seen in recent weeks, Arsenal are very much a different team without Odegaard.

For now, the Norwegian will remain the captain of Arsenal, but if a change is ever made, don’t be surprised if Saka is promoted into that role.