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Mikel Arteta has described Martin Odegaard as the “perfect professional” in a hint that he could become the next Arsenal captain.

Arsenal are looking to appoint their next on-pitch leader after removing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the role. The Gabon striker was punished for his latest disciplinary breach. As such, he is currently not in contention for selection.

His absence will continue over the weekend, when Arteta will not call upon him for the trip to face Leeds United on Saturday evening.

The club will be taking their time to choose who their next captain will be. It has been a difficult role to settle on after Aubameyang’s predecessor Granit Xhaka also lost it due to some controversies.

One candidate to have emerged is attacking midfielder Odegaard. He only joined the club in January, initially on loan, but has always impressed Arteta.

A permanent Arsenal player since the summer, Odegaard has now received further backing from his boss.

“He’s very young but he already has a lot of experience,” Arteta said at a press conference. “He’s getting close to his best level. We’ve got a tremendous player there.

“He’s a natural leader. If you look for the perfect professional you don’t have to look much further than him.”

Someone else who has been taking Aubameyang’s responsibilities – in more ways than one – is Alexandre Lacazette.

The striker not only plays in the same position as the ex-captain. He has also taken the armband on a couple of occasions already.

That said, he is out of contract at the end of the season and there are doubts over his future. But asked if the situation with Aubameyang could affect Lacazette’s future, Arteta reiterated the stance is clear.

“Alex’s performances, involvement and commitment are not related to his contract situation,” he said. “I discussed in the summer with him what it is and we’re both clear on that.

“He’s played a lot under me and I’ve always been really pleased with him.”

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Arteta addresses lack of Pepe action

Someone who hasn’t played as much under Arteta this season has been fellow forward Nicolas Pepe.

The club-record signing has often struggled to justify his price tag despite the occasional glimpse of his true talent.

Only starting five Premier League games so far this season, he has played just 489 minutes in the competition.

Arteta was asked about the Ivory Coast international’s situation and admitted he needs more chances if he is to shine.

“It’s with all the players that they are not having a lot of minutes,” he said. “With the amount of games we’re having there’s not enough room.

“With Nico’s situation it’s something similar. He needs more opportunities to show what he can do and in the last games he hasn’t had them.

“I understand [concerns about Pepe’s minutes] but again I have to try to make the decision based on what I see every day. Nico is really willing to help the team.

“The reality is that in the position that he’s playing, Bukayo is there and has been fantastic.”

Elsewhere in his press conference, Arteta confirmed Arsenal have no positive cases of Covid-19 at present. However, he acknowledges the situation is changing regularly.

Furthermore, there were only a couple of fitness issues to arise from last weekend. He will judge each case after Friday’s training session.

READ MORE: Xhaka makes Arsenal request in the wake of Aubameyang captaincy fiasco

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