Arsenal has invested heavily in improving players' fitness in recent years, because coach Mikel Arteta always puts endurance and the ability to maintain competition intensity at a very high level. However, last season showed the limit of that requirement when they had to go through 63 matches.
Declan Rice is the most typical case. The English midfielder played 69 matches for Arsenal and the national team last season, with a total of 5,482 minutes played. Only Marc Guehi of Manchester City and Unai Simon of Athletic Bilbao had more minutes played in the top 5 European leagues. Morgan Rogers is the only player to have played more matches than Rice, with 71 times.
At Arsenal alone, Rice played 55 matches, including 49 starts. He is a central factor in Arteta's system and also plays an increasingly important role in the England national team after being appointed vice-captain.
The huge volume of competition raises the question of whether Rice can continue to maintain the same intensity or not. He once had physical problems at the 2026 World Cup, while injuries also affected the final stage of last season. According to sources, Rice even had to get injections to be able to continue playing.
However, Arteta still believes in his student's ability to withstand the pressure. After Rice was brought on in the second half of the win against Man City in the Community Shield, the Spanish strategist emphasized that the midfielder was used to playing with a high density in recent seasons.
Arteta also believes that Rice needs to aim for quality and efficiency instead of just trying to increase the number of matches. However, that is not exactly what Rice wants. The 27-year-old midfielder once admitted that he prefers playing 3 matches per week rather than just playing one match and having to wait until the next match.
In fact, Rice has repeatedly proven his ability to maintain an admirable fitness. Since the beginning of the 2018-2019 season, he has only missed 14 matches due to injury. In the 2023-2024 season, right in his first year wearing the Arsenal shirt, Rice was the player who played the most minutes in the top 5 European leagues.
However, continuously using a high-intensity player still contains risks. Arsenal once paid the price for injuries and lack of squad rotation in the 2025-2026 season. Arteta's team has gone through 63 matches, while Rice has to bear a particularly large playing volume.
One of the reasons why this situation is becoming serious is that Arteta does not really trust Christian Norgaard. The £10 million contract only started one match in the Premier League last season and then moved to Everton for £7 million.
The Gunners" quickly added Bruno Guimaraes for a fee of 75 million pounds. The Brazilian midfielder gives Arteta another quality option to rotate the midfield.
Besides Guimaraes, Arsenal also has Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Martin Odegaard is also returning to high form, while Eberechi Eze brings another creative option. This depth helps Arteta have more options to reduce the burden on Rice.
This is especially important after Zubimendi's fitness decline at the end of last season, forcing Rice to switch from the number 8 role to play lower. With three reliable options in the central midfielder position, Arsenal currently has a basis to allocate the playing volume more reasonably.
Arsenal needs Rice in the best condition to defend the championship. Arteta will have to balance between exploiting his ability and maintaining fitness in a season with a tight schedule.
