The Athletic has live coverage of Brighton vs. Arsenal.<\/em><\/p>\n When is the right time to rest a player? <\/span><\/p>\n 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 \u2014 but does anything weigh as heavily as the need to win?<\/p>\n For Arteta, the dilemma is particularly pronounced in the cases of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.<\/p>\n The pair have been the team\u2019s 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). <\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s marathon men. <\/span><\/p>\n More often than not, they come as a pair. Across the season, Arsenal\u2019s midfield three has evolved into a \u201c2+1\u201d. 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 \u2014 on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always talk about these kinds of relationships and chemistry,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there is one, and it’s very strong off the field as well. That makes what happens on the field very, very special.\u201d<\/p>\n But there have been signs of instability in Arsenal\u2019s midfield nucleus. In the most recent Premier League game against Chelsea on Sunday, neither Rice nor Zubimendi was at their authoritative best.<\/p>\n Rice, 27, had to be withdrawn in the 76th minute, after one particularly hamstring-stretching sprint towards his own goal left him exhausted.<\/p>\n \n Declan Rice looked exhausted before being substituted against Chelsea (Shaun Botterill\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Zubimendi\u2019s fatigue appeared mental as much as physical: an errant backpass to goalkeeper David Raya almost played in Joao Pedro for a golden chance.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Arteta said the sheer amount of football his countryman has played for him this season is down to \u201cdifferent circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n “The number of games and competitions that we are involved in, and injuries as well,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd he’s doing so well, and for a first year, we’re having a great season.\u201d<\/p>\n Arteta suggested Arsenal are taking steps to manage Zubimendi\u2019s workload.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing that for the whole season,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s an unprecedented season for us. We’ve never played that many games ever in our history.\u201d<\/p>\n But the Arsenal manager warned that the load is unlikely to lighten any time soon:<\/p>\n \u201cAnd 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n So, when can<\/em> Arteta afford to leave Rice or Zubimendi out?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also Christian Norgaard \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Arteta conceded that it is \u201cdifficult\u201d to know when it\u2019s the right moment to take a player of Rice or Zubimendi\u2019s calibre out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always like this with any player,\u201d said Arteta. \u201cYou have to understand which games are more fitted for them and other players as well. And that’s what we have to do.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd 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, \u2018I’m in a great moment, I want to continue to play\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a hint there at one of Arteta\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Perhaps this week, the fixture list determines Arteta\u2019s decision for him. Arsenal have an FA Cup tie away to third-division Mansfield Town on Saturday \u2014 surely an opportune moment to rest these two midfield dynamos.<\/p>\n Before that, there\u2019s Brighton tonight.<\/p>\n It is difficult to envisage Arsenal\u2019s midfield without both Rice and Zubimendi \u2014 an assessment Arteta plainly shares. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Athletic has live coverage of Brighton vs. Arsenal. When is the right time to rest a player? In a season in which every game feels so vital, every point … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/03\/03154544\/GettyImages-2264228792-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n