As Arsenal approach their most significant Premier League fixture in over two decades, the team's form has faltered at a critical juncture. Facing Manchester City away at the Etihad Stadium, amidst a hostile atmosphere, the insights of former captain Tony Adams on leadership carry immense weight.
The Legacy of a True Leader
Tony Adams served as Arsenal's captain for an impressive fourteen-year period, from 1988 until his retirement in May 2002. Appointed to the role at just twenty-one years of age, he retained the armband throughout his well-documented battle with alcoholism. Adams guided the club to league championships across three distinct decades, establishing an unparalleled understanding of what it takes to lead at the highest level.
A Pre-Season Prediction Ignored
Prior to the current campaign, Adams publicly stated his belief that Declan Rice, not Martin Odegaard, should be appointed as Arsenal's skipper. He argued that manager Mikel Arteta should have made the definitive call himself, rather than delegating the decision to a players' vote.
Arteta did not follow this advice. Odegaard retained the captaincy, but doubts about his leadership qualities have lingered. With both Odegaard and star forward Bukayo Saka contending with injuries, Declan Rice has received a battlefield promotion, leading the side in recent crucial matches.
Adams' Persistent Concerns
Despite this, Adams remains troubled by what he perceives as a lack of decisiveness from Arteta regarding the captaincy. He is also concerned about the absence, until recently, of a skipper capable of executing the manager's tactical instructions on the pitch during moments of adversity.
'After I made the comment about Odegaard before the start of the season,' Adams explains, '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."'
Adams questions the managerial approach: '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.'
Contrasting Leadership Styles
Adams draws a sharp contrast with Manchester City's setup. '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.'
He elaborates with a personal anecdote from his playing days: 'Back in the day, we’re at Leeds away, and they were press, press, press... and Arsene is shouting: "Tony, get up". I got it. We pushed up to the half-way line and we started to turn them. But there was no relationship with anyone on the pitch that Arteta could do that with, in my opinion, in that game.'
Reiterating his stance, Adams says: '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.'
On Modern Set-Piece Tactics
When questioned about similarities between Arteta's meticulously drilled set-pieces and the routines of his own era under George Graham and Arsene Wenger, Adams offered a critical view of the modern game.
'The levels of set-pieces - and the contacts and the blocks - it’s gone too far now,' he states. 'We used to use blocks. Viv Anderson taught me how to do it... We had a little competition during the ‘89 season. He got five. I think I got six. We used to block for each other. But now, if you’re teaching defenders how to defend from corners…it used to be ball, player.'
He laments the change in defensive coaching: 'What’s that song? "Looking back over my shoulder?"... We used to do that all the time. Ball and player, ball and player. Now it’s just, "I’m going to grab hold of you". How do you teach a defender to do that? What’s that about?'
The Crucial Test Ahead
Declan Rice is expected to captain Arsenal once more in the pivotal showdown at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday. There are indications that the responsibility is elevating his performances to new heights. For Arsenal to secure their most important result in twenty years, they will require a level of leadership and resilience unlike any they have needed before.
Note: Tony Adams' book, 1996: Reflections on the year that changed my life, co-authored with Ian Ridley, is published by Floodlit Dreams.
