LONDON (AP) — Mikel Arteta says he and his players have no doubts about Martin Odegaard’s qualities as Arsenal captain.

The Norway international has been captain for three years — all second-place finishes in the Premier League — and that won’t change as the Gunners prepare for their season opener at Manchester United on Sunday.

Club great Tony Adams had called for Arteta to give the armband to Declan Rice in a bid to elevate the team to its first top-flight title since 2004.

Arteta, himself a former Arsenal captain, said that’s not happening.

“It’s not just my opinion,” he said Friday, “it’s all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote (on) the captain and I got the results yesterday and by a mile — by 100 miles — everybody chooses the same person, which is Martin Odegaard, which is the most clear sign that you can have.

“It’s how they feel about who has to be their captain, to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win,” Arteta added. “There’s no question about that.”

Odegaard is also Norway’s captain.

Keep digging

Three straight runner-up finishes won’t deter the team, Arteta said.

“You keep digging, digging, digging,” he said. “You have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there. For three seasons we have more points than any other team in this league, which is incredible. Now we have to do it in a season to earn one more point (than other teams)… that’s our objective.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer