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When is the right time to rest a player?
In a season in which every game feels so vital, every point so precious, the question presents a constant dilemma for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. The view of the player involved and advice from medical staff carry considerable weight in the conversation — but does anything weigh as heavily as the need to win?
For Arteta, the dilemma is particularly pronounced in the cases of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.
The pair have been the team’s midfield engine room for the duration of the campaign to date. The demands are substantial, the output enormous: Premier League data suggests no player has run more than Zubimendi. In his debut season in English football, the 27-year-old Spain international has already covered more than 311 kilometres (193 miles).
Only nine Premier League players have run further than Rice (285km). The two midfielders have played roughly 2,400 league minutes apiece after 29 of the 38 league fixtures. They are Arsenal’s marathon men.
More often than not, they come as a pair. Across the season, Arsenal’s midfield three has evolved into a “2+1”. In his press conference to preview the Premier League match tonight (Wednesday) away to Brighton & Hove Albion, Arteta acknowledged he has come to see Rice and Zubimendi as a duo — on and off the pitch.
“We always talk about these kinds of relationships and chemistry,” he said. “And there is one, and it’s very strong off the field as well. That makes what happens on the field very, very special.”
But there have been signs of instability in Arsenal’s midfield nucleus. In the most recent Premier League game against Chelsea on Sunday, neither Rice nor Zubimendi was at their authoritative best.
Rice, 27, had to be withdrawn in the 76th minute, after one particularly hamstring-stretching sprint towards his own goal left him exhausted.
Declan Rice looked exhausted before being substituted against Chelsea (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Zubimendi’s fatigue appeared mental as much as physical: an errant backpass to goalkeeper David Raya almost played in Joao Pedro for a golden chance.
The former Real Sociedad midfielder instantly became a regular fixture in the team after signing this summer. It was thought in some quarters that he might need time to adapt to the demands of English football. Instead, Zubimendi has played all 29 Premier League games, starting 28 of them.
Arteta said the sheer amount of football his countryman has played for him this season is down to “different circumstances”.
“The number of games and competitions that we are involved in, and injuries as well,” he explained. “And he’s doing so well, and for a first year, we’re having a great season.”
Arteta suggested Arsenal are taking steps to manage Zubimendi’s workload.
“We’ve been doing that for the whole season,” he said. “It’s an unprecedented season for us. We’ve never played that many games ever in our history.”
But the Arsenal manager warned that the load is unlikely to lighten any time soon:
“And on top of that, those guys, they’re going to go with the national teams in March. And on top of that, we have a World Cup (in June and July). That is something that we keep an eye on.
“But they’re going to break every (appearance) record that they had in the past, whether it is in one season, in two or three, because the number of games that they have here is inevitable.”
So, when can Arteta afford to leave Rice or Zubimendi out?
The situation is exacerbated by the loss of Mikel Merino, expected to be out for months yet with a bone injury to his right foot. With Arsenal shifting to play with a double pivot, Merino would be the most obvious rotation option to come in for either Rice or Zubimendi.
There’s also Christian Norgaard — but Arteta has appeared reluctant to use the Denmark international. He has made just five appearances in the Premier League since joining from Brentford in the summer, all of them from the substitutes’ bench. He has been an unused substitute 18 times.
Arteta conceded that it is “difficult” to know when it’s the right moment to take a player of Rice or Zubimendi’s calibre out.
“It’s always like this with any player,” said Arteta. “You have to understand which games are more fitted for them and other players as well. And that’s what we have to do.
“And then understand how they are feeling, because there are moments when you feel that it’s the right moment to go, and others when you say, ‘I’m in a great moment, I want to continue to play’.”
There is a hint there at one of Arteta’s principles: that players benefit from consistent selection, regular minutes and rhythm. That might partly explain his hesitance to start Norgaard: after a season spent largely on the sidelines, he would effectively be coming in cold.
Perhaps this week, the fixture list determines Arteta’s decision for him. Arsenal have an FA Cup tie away to third-division Mansfield Town on Saturday — surely an opportune moment to rest these two midfield dynamos.
Before that, there’s Brighton tonight.
It is difficult to envisage Arsenal’s midfield without both Rice and Zubimendi — an assessment Arteta plainly shares.
