A quick Saturday overview for you. Obviously we’ll save the Chelsea preview until tomorrow, but Mikel Arteta sounded a fairly positive note on the injury front at his press conference yesterday. It remains to be seen whether we’ll have Leandro Trossard after he left midweek, or indeed Viktor Gyokeres and/or Kai Havertz, but trying to read between the lines – to the extent that’s possible – I suspect we’ll see at least one.
He also spoke about Gabriel Jesus getting minutes in a behind-closed-doors match against Watford in midweek. Again, after such a long absence there is no question of rushing him back, but the manager said it was ‘very positive’, which can only be a good thing with so many games on the schedule. It’s gone a little under the radar due to the high-profile nature of the games we’ve played since Interlull, but there are now three games in a week, with Chelsea on Sunday, Brentford on Wednesday and a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.
That’s difficult, and we can’t get through these games without effective squad rotation. Even if someone like Jesus can play 20 minutes in one of these games, it will lighten the burden on those who have played a lot. It could be a big week in the Premier League, with so many points to play for in such a short space of time. I’m sure the manager has a plan to keep things fresh without losing the cohesion needed to deliver effective performance.
I’ve talked a bit in recent days about Declan Rice and some of the comments he made after Bayern Munich’s win. He told CBS Sports that he was enjoying the current schedule and playing every three or four days as he was able to find a good rhythm. Winning legs don’t mean tired legs, but I do wonder if the manager will be tempted to give him a midweek rest. Now that Christian Norgaard is ready to play against his old club and the Villa game is more difficult on paper, he has to think about that too.
Then it’s about that balance between rest and interrupting the rhythm he is currently in. Will Mikel Arteta reflect on how he kept Viktor Gyokeres on the bench for a midweek game so that for him to pick up an injury in the next game he would have had to be fully ‘rested’? Is that related at all, or is it just a coincidence? I guess we’ll find out in due time. The manager was asked about Rice’s impact this season, at a time when he is probably playing the best football of his career, which is quite a high bar to be honest.
Responding to a question about whether this was what he envisioned from the player who signed for £105 million two years ago, he said:
Probably yes. But now that we are with him every day and understand him and connect with him the way I did, we will get more. Because he wants more, he will get more. The team knows him better, his role is growing within the team, the impact he has on the team is huge and we will find ways to make him even better.
It almost feels greedy to ask for more from Rice, but if it’s there, I’ll gladly take it. He also talked about him being part of the leadership group, which is pretty obvious when you look at his character and the kind of person he is:
He is in the leadership group, which is also very important, and that is true a real presence and sometimes you don’t just have to wear the bracelet to feel truly connected, really powerful and very important in the team.
Martin Odegaard is the captain, that does not need to change. When he is not there, Bukayo Saka wears the bracelet. Rice briefly confiscated it Wednesday night as Saka left, then passed it to Odegaard as he entered. I don’t think Declan Rice needs any title to be a leader at Arsenal, he just is one. For me it is too limiting to say that he should be captain. It doesn’t make anything better if you do that, especially given the context in which you’re taking it from someone else. We just have to be happy that this is a team with strong characters and leaders from front to back. Gabriel, Saliba, Saka, Rice, Odegaard and a supporting cast that doesn’t shy away from making themselves known.
Okay, I’ll leave it there for this morning. If you need something to listen to, our preview podcast is now on Patreonand I’ll be back here tomorrow with a full preview of our trip to Stamford Bridge.
Happy Saturday.
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