In a season when Arsenal is exhausted in 4 fronts, when entering the final stretch, every match is equally important. Therefore, choosing a few matches for key players to rest is almost impossible. For Mikel Arteta, this story is most clearly shown through the frequency of activities of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.
This central midfield duo is a huge push for Arsenal in the fierce season ahead. Their position is under enormous pressure and requires the highest intensity in the system. Premier League data shows that no player in this league has run more than Zubimendi since the beginning of the season. This is the first season the Spanish star has played in the Premier League and he has run a total distance of up to 311 km.
There are only 9 players in the Premier League, including Zubimendi who ran more than Rice (285 km). Both Rice and Zubimendi played a total of nearly 2,400 minutes for Arsenal before the clash with Brighton. They are truly the marathon athletes of the "Gunners". In Arteta's 4-3-3 formation, the midfield is always fixed by Zubimendi and Rice, the other will rotate, depending on each match.
In the victory over Chelsea last weekend, although Arsenal achieved what they wanted, the performance of the Rice - Zubimendi duo was not effective. Rice had to leave the field in the 76th minute while Zubimendi was careless when passing back to David Raya, almost creating a good opportunity for Joao Pedro to seize the opportunity.
However, that is just a slight derailment in the very smooth journey of this pair. Martin Zubimendi has only played his first season for the "Gunners" but has started 28/29 matches in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta said that right from the time the team got Zubimendi, he and his colleagues had calculated the training and playing volume for the compatriot midfielder. However, Arteta does not rule out the possibility of extending for Zubimendi a little more because if too tense, it could leave unpredictable consequences for the former Real Sociedad star.
However, when Zubimendi or Rice can rest according to Arteta's wishes is a question that is difficult to find an answer to. Currently, Mikel Merino is injured. He is the most feasible option to temporarily replace Rice or Zubimendi due to their similar playing style. Christian Norgaard is the next option but not of high class. The Danish international has only played 5 times in the Premier League this season. When the tournaments enter the acceleration phase, it is difficult to have a starting spot for the former Brentford star.
With Arteta, this young coach has a philosophy that the more often the player plays, the more stable the tempo will be, of course not to the point of exhaustion. That is also the reason why Norgaard has little chance of starting in this stage. After facing Brighton in the Premier League, Arsenal will breathe a little easier when facing Mansfield Town in the FA Cup this weekend. This will be the most appropriate and extremely rare time for both Rice and Zubimendi to rest, before entering the Champions League round of 16 matches next week.
