Olsson is Albion's Adams for Thomas
Albion winger Jerome Thomas has hailed team-mate Jonas Olsson as the Baggies' answer to Arsenal's former defensive talisman Tony Adams.
The Hawthorns wide man, who was a trainee with the Gunners during Adams' spell as captain, believes Olsson shares the leadership qualities of the former England captain.
Thomas said: "Jonas Olsson has been a fixture in defence in every single game and is one of those leaders that every team needs.
"He is a Tony Adams kind of figure from the old Arsenal. Even when we were 2-0 up on Saturday at Leicester, you could see him getting after the lads and making sure we didn't lose concentration.
"I think he is similar in terms of leadership qualities to Adams. A lot of the great teams have that.
"Manchester United have Rio Ferdinand, Chelsea have John Terry and I would say Jonas is our equivalent at the moment."
Olsson was appointed as vice-captain at the start of the season and the Swede has emerged as the lynchpin of the defence.
Thomas believes his influence is spreading across the back four, with Roberto Di Matteo's men conceding just three goals in the last six matches.
The winger said: "Those are the kind of players you need. Abou Meite has come in and helped us keep three clean sheets, so has been doing superbly as well.
"At the same time that goes all the way across the defence. It was hard for Joe Mattock to go back to Leicester on Saturday and he did well and Gianni had one of his best games.
"He made a great clearance to stop what would have been a goal if he hadn't been there in the second half."
