Arsenal have four players away with England at the moment, and Mikel Arteta won’t be delighted with what Thomas Tuchel did with two of them on Thursday night.
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Eberechi Eze are all with the Three Lions, who took on Wales in a friendly at Wembley and face Latvia in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
In total, Arsenal have 18 senior players on international duty, several of whom will be involved in crucial qualifiers for next summer’s tournament in North America.
Arteta will be hoping and praying that no casualties emerge from the break, and that he has an almost entirely fit squad to select from at Fulham on 18th October.
Mikel Arteta will not be happy with Thomas Tuchel’s team selection vs Wales
While Lewis-Skelly was given just ten minutes off the bench against Wales, and Eze was an unused substitute, the Gunners’ two other Three Lions stars started the match.
Rice was named as captain against the Dragons, whilst Saka became the most prolific Arsenal player for England by netting Tuchel’s side’s third goal on the night.
The winger cut in on his left foot in the 20th minute and beautifully bent the ball beyond the outstretched Karl Darlow and into the back of the net.
While Rice and Saka will be happy with their individual feats in this game, Arteta would no doubt have been watching on, not best pleased.
Risking two players who have played a lot of football in a meaningless friendly likely gave the Gunners boss heart palpitations.
The likes of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Eze were all given respite, while Rice and Saka were put through their paces in the midst of a gruelling season.
Both players appear to have come through unscathed, although these are more unnecessary minutes that have been added to their load.
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice need to be managed carefully
Saka suffered a major hamstring injury last season, which many feel may have been a consequence of the volume of minutes he’s played in recent years.
The wide forward has played almost 15,000 league minutes since he broke through into Arsenal’s first team, despite only turning 24 last month.
Similarly, Rice’s league career minutes tally is approaching 25,000. Both players have been overplayed and are at risk of suffering an early decline in their career due to the physical toll this will have.
While it’s difficult for Tuchel or Arteta not to use two of the best players at their disposal, the two must work together and decide what is appropriate to ensure both of their careers are prolonged.
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