Oleksandr Zinchenko was named Arsenal's captain for Saturday's Premier League match against Leicester City, as explained by Martin Odegaard.
In order to maintain their two-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the league standings, the Gunners earned all three points at the King Power Stadium thanks to a Gabriel Martinelli goal in the second half.
Odegaard gave Zinchenko the armband as Mikel Arteta's team took the field, explaining that the decision was made to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“I spoke to some people in the club yesterday and then I went to Mikel and suggested it for him,” Odegaard said when asked about giving the armband to the former Manchester City full-back. “It was a nice thing to do to show him the support.
"It’s been a year now, too long, it’s a very difficult situation for him I know and very emotional. It was a good thing to do to show our support.
"I spoke to him this morning, asked if he was comfortable doing it. When he’s on the pitch he’s always 100 percent focused and always there."
Mikel Arteta side will host Everton at the Emirates stadium on Wednesday night in their Premier League fixture.
Odegaard added: "He doesn’t let him affect him but of course it’s not an easy thing for him, his family and everyone there. We just wanted to show him the support.
“We did a lot of the normal things, he always speaks before the games, I speak, others speak. It was the same today, before the game he said some words.”
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