‘We Have to’—Declan Rice Injury Update Arrives With Telling Mikel Arteta Admission

Rice limped off in the second half of Arsenal’s 2–1 win over Chelsea on Sunday.

Declan Rice was forced off for the closing stages of Arsenal’s win over Chelsea. | Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta revealed that Declan Rice is currently being assessed after limping off against Chelsea and warned that he will be forced into rotations for Arsenal’s midweek trip to Brighton.

Rice lasted the first 76 minutes of Sunday’s 2–1 win over the Blues, delivering the vicious in-swinging corner which led to Jurriën Timber’s second-half winner. The talismanic midfielder had some nervy moments against the club which released him as a 14-year-old—it took a very generous interpretation of the phrase “natural position” to overlook a potential handball in the first half—but bounded around the field with purpose.

One typically lung-busting surge in the 69th minute saw him snuff out a Chelsea counterattack, but it appeared to come at some expense. Rice pulled up awkwardly, limping around the pitch for another few minutes before he was replaced by Christian Nørgaard.

“Declan has to be substituted,” Arteta revealed postgame, “so he’s going to have to get checked and see if he’s available for Wednesday, unfortunately.”

As Arsenal’s manager warned, he won’t be the only first-team regular at risk of missing out.

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Arteta Teases Rotation for Tricky Trip

Arsenal’s title charge is looking good at this stage. | Glyn KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

“We’re going to have to make changes and give opportunities to everybody to be fresh,” Arsenal’s manager promised. Arteta took the clear week of preparation for this weekend’s London derby as an opportunity to name an unchanged XI for the first time in months, but there will be several alterations for the trip down south.

Given his importance to the side, Rice may not have been risked against Brighton regardless of this knock. Nørgaard has proven to be an able deputy for the defensive totem and his presence frees up Martín Zubimendi to demonstrate his deceptively impressive attacking instincts.

Martin Ødegaard missed out on Sunday’s match with a recurrence of a knee injury, forcing Arteta to once again turn to Eberechi Eze. Tottenham Hotspur’s nemesis will have to shake off his capital curse if he is to impact Wednesday’s match at the AMEX Stadium—Eze has not scored or assisted a single Premier League goal outside of London in almost 11 months.

Mikel Merino is not available as a midfield alternative but Kai Havertz did return to action over the weekend. The German’s idiosyncratic style could come in handy up against a Brighton side buoyed by their first consecutive wins since November.

There may also be a change enforced in goal. David Raya was in fine form against Chelsea yet all that leaping around amid the scrum of corner kicks left him looking in discomfort by the final whistle. “I don’t know what happened in that [final] action,” Arteta reflected. “He had some niggles this week, so I don’t know if it’s related to that. But overall, very happy.”

Arteta will undoubtedly select Wednesday’s team with this weekend’s trip to Mansfield Town in mind. The Gunners have rotated heavily in the FA Cup thus far while leaving their star players on the bench in case an upset is on the cards. Having already knocked out Premier League opposition in the form of Burnley, Nigel Clough’s third-tier outfit are not to be underestimated.

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21 Games in 87 Days

Arsenal are going for the quadruple. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Competition	Remaining Matches	Last Game Date
Premier League	9	May 24
Champions League	7	May 30
FA Cup	4	May 16
Carabao Cup	1	March 22

No English club has ever won the quadruple but Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool did come awfully close. The Reds lifted both domestic cup competitions, pushed Manchester City until the last day of the Premier League season and lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final during a draining 2021–22 campaign. Despite only emerging with two pots of silver, Liverpool played the full allocation of 63 matches.

The Champions League has since expanded, ensuring that Arsenal will have to navigate 65 games should they hope to dominate on all four fronts. March is already upon us but there are still as many as 21 potential matches for the Gunners to hurdle over the space of 87 days.

If Arteta is to have any hope of winning some or all of these titles he will need to master the fickle art of squad management, starting with Wednesday’s trip to Brighton.

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