Midfielder Declan Rice will have the honor of wearing the Arsenal captain’s armband for the first time in the final match of the Premier League season away at Southampton. Mikel Arteta has handed him the captaincy, and Rice will lead the team out at St Mary’s, with regular captain Martin Odegaard starting the match from the substitutes’ bench.
Rice Takes on New Responsibility
This is a notable moment for Rice, who has had an impressive season in the Gunners’ colors. Bukayo Saka and Jorginho, who have deputized for Odegaard when he was absent earlier in the season, are also not in the starting lineup. This opportunity allows Rice to demonstrate his leadership abilities as Arsenal look to end a somewhat disappointing season with an away victory.
Demonstrating Leadership Ability
This match marks the first time Rice leads Arsenal. This season, current captain Martin Odegaard has faced considerable criticism regarding his on-field leadership. Some fans have suggested Rice as a potential replacement for the Norwegian player. The decision to give Rice the captain’s armband in this match may fuel those speculations further.
Rice is no stranger to the captaincy role. He led West Ham in his final season at the club, replacing Mark Noble and helping the team win the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Trust from Arteta
Mikel Arteta is certainly aware of Rice’s leadership qualities. This is likely a key factor in the decision to select him as captain for this important away fixture. It can be said that, aside from Odegaard, Rice is one of the few Arsenal players with the qualities to lead the team.
However, this does not necessarily lead to excessive speculation. Arteta himself seems to be simply rewarding the player for a consistent and outstanding season of performances, given that the end-of-season schedule is already set with Champions League qualification secured.
Role in the Future
Rice may not replace Odegaard as Arsenal captain, but wearing the armband for the first time shows he has the potential to become an important member of the club’s leadership group next season. He can bring stability and experience to the team and experience to the team — qualities that have defined his rise in Profile & Career, showing how he blends youth, maturity, and tactical awareness in leadership roles.
Rice: From Doubt to Hero
The old image of Rice, seen by some as too limited to be a mainstay in a possession-controlling team, might have shielded the ball and simply passed it in the direction he was facing. Instead, he drops back, glances over his shoulder twice, and lets the ball roll across his body to turn while controlling it.
The old Rice, whom many thought couldn’t play progressively, might have panicked under pressure and chosen the safe option of passing back to goalkeeper David Raya. Instead, he feints to retreat and, with a quick hip shake, leaves Dembele behind as he drives the ball through Luis Enrique’s midfield and plays Leandro Trossard into a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Had the Belgian forward finished better, it would have been a world-class assist, on par with Rice’s two free-kick goals in the first leg of the quarter-final against Real Madrid.
But in a midfield battle where the home side was outmatched, Rice’s surge was still a powerful statement, reminding PSG’s artistic trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves, and Fabian Ruiz that Arsenal possess qualities they lack.
The message he delivered at the end of the warm-up before the 0-1 loss to PSG was: “If we don’t have the ball, we’ll die.” In the Bernabeu tunnel last month, he countered talk of another Real Madrid “remontada” (comeback) by shouting “Nothing to fear, let’s go” as they walked out onto the pitch.
Emerging Leader
It’s easy to forget that Rice is still relatively new at this level of club football. Yes, he led West Ham United to their first trophy in 43 years by winning the Europa Conference League in 2023, but that was Europe’s third-tier competition.
This is only his second season at Arsenal, and in the Champions League, but it increasingly seems like he is taking command.
He is playing with growing responsibility and personality, taking corners and free-kicks, making final decisions on the best execution, using his game sense to know when to override Mikel Arteta’s desire for possession control with a powerful surge forward.
That surge, along with the long passes he unleashes and the way he pressed PSG in the second half, is how Rice recognizes the urgency needed to energize the crowd.
In the first half, Bukayo Saka’s daring dribbles and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s physicality helped regain control of the match after a difficult opening 20 minutes, before Mikel Merino and Rice worked to disrupt PSG and take command.
