diff --git a/builtin/fetch.c b/builtin/fetch.c
index d5442e1eb7..6196e91798 100644
--- a/builtin/fetch.c
+++ b/builtin/fetch.c
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@ int cmd_fetch(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		struct argv_array options = ARGV_ARRAY_INIT;
 
 		add_options_to_argv(&options);
-		result = fetch_populated_submodules(options.argc, options.argv,
+		result = fetch_populated_submodules(&options,
 						    submodule_prefix,
 						    recurse_submodules,
 						    verbosity < 0);
diff --git a/submodule.c b/submodule.c
index 784b58039d..83e157d8d5 100644
--- a/submodule.c
+++ b/submodule.c
@@ -586,13 +586,13 @@ static void calculate_changed_submodule_paths(void)
 	initialized_fetch_ref_tips = 0;
 }
 
-int fetch_populated_submodules(int num_options, const char **options,
+int fetch_populated_submodules(const struct argv_array *options,
 			       const char *prefix, int command_line_option,
 			       int quiet)
 {
-	int i, result = 0, argc = 0, default_argc;
+	int i, result = 0;
 	struct child_process cp;
-	const char **argv;
+	struct argv_array argv = ARGV_ARRAY_INIT;
 	struct string_list_item *name_for_path;
 	const char *work_tree = get_git_work_tree();
 	if (!work_tree)
@@ -602,17 +602,13 @@ int fetch_populated_submodules(int num_options, const char **options,
 		if (read_cache() < 0)
 			die("index file corrupt");
 
-	/* 6: "fetch" (options) --recurse-submodules-default default "--submodule-prefix" prefix NULL */
-	argv = xcalloc(num_options + 6, sizeof(const char *));
-	argv[argc++] = "fetch";
-	for (i = 0; i < num_options; i++)
-		argv[argc++] = options[i];
-	argv[argc++] = "--recurse-submodules-default";
-	default_argc = argc++;
-	argv[argc++] = "--submodule-prefix";
+	argv_array_push(&argv, "fetch");
+	for (i = 0; i < options->argc; i++)
+		argv_array_push(&argv, options->argv[i]);
+	argv_array_push(&argv, "--recurse-submodules-default");
+	/* default value, "--submodule-prefix" and its value are added later */
 
 	memset(&cp, 0, sizeof(cp));
-	cp.argv = argv;
 	cp.env = local_repo_env;
 	cp.git_cmd = 1;
 	cp.no_stdin = 1;
@@ -672,16 +668,21 @@ int fetch_populated_submodules(int num_options, const char **options,
 			if (!quiet)
 				printf("Fetching submodule %s%s\n", prefix, ce->name);
 			cp.dir = submodule_path.buf;
-			argv[default_argc] = default_argv;
-			argv[argc] = submodule_prefix.buf;
+			argv_array_push(&argv, default_argv);
+			argv_array_push(&argv, "--submodule-prefix");
+			argv_array_push(&argv, submodule_prefix.buf);
+			cp.argv = argv.argv;
 			if (run_command(&cp))
 				result = 1;
+			argv_array_pop(&argv);
+			argv_array_pop(&argv);
+			argv_array_pop(&argv);
 		}
 		strbuf_release(&submodule_path);
 		strbuf_release(&submodule_git_dir);
 		strbuf_release(&submodule_prefix);
 	}
-	free(argv);
+	argv_array_clear(&argv);
 out:
 	string_list_clear(&changed_submodule_paths, 1);
 	return result;
diff --git a/submodule.h b/submodule.h
index e105b0ebe6..594b50d510 100644
--- a/submodule.h
+++ b/submodule.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define SUBMODULE_H
 
 struct diff_options;
+struct argv_array;
 
 enum {
 	RECURSE_SUBMODULES_ON_DEMAND = -1,
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ void show_submodule_summary(FILE *f, const char *path,
 		const char *del, const char *add, const char *reset);
 void set_config_fetch_recurse_submodules(int value);
 void check_for_new_submodule_commits(unsigned char new_sha1[20]);
-int fetch_populated_submodules(int num_options, const char **options,
+int fetch_populated_submodules(const struct argv_array *options,
 			       const char *prefix, int command_line_option,
 			       int quiet);
 unsigned is_submodule_modified(const char *path, int ignore_untracked);