Should Arsenal give their World Cup stars a proper rest?

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·16 July 2026

Should Arsenal give their World Cup stars a proper rest?

With the World Cup coming to an end, attention will soon turn back to club football and Arsenal’s preparations for the new season. But with several key players expected to return late from international duty, Dan Smith believes Mikel Arteta may have some difficult decisions to make, even if they prove unpopular in the short term.

Can Arsenal afford to prioritise recovery?

Mikel Arteta has often stressed that, at the highest level, football can be decided by the smallest of details.

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It is no exaggeration to say Arsenal’s success in defending their Premier League title could come down to how the Spaniard manages his players’ schedules once they return from the World Cup.

FIFA’s regulations state that, after any international tournament, players must receive a mandatory break of at least 21 days.

Based on those rules, any Gunner involved in Sunday’s final would not be expected back until 10 August, just six days before the Community Shield.

Yet our manager might have to make some difficult decisions that could hurt his squad in the short term while proving beneficial in the long term.

The 44-year-old will be surrounded by some of the very best sports scientists and medical staff.

Even before players flew out to the United States, Canada and Mexico, their clubs knew that physically and mentally a lot had already been taken out of them last season.

They will appreciate that England have managed Bukayo Saka’s minutes, but that has confirmed what most already suspected. He has not been 100 per cent fit for some time and probably would have missed the closing weeks of the campaign had trophies not still been on the line.

Declan Rice has revealed this month that he is dealing with constant nerve pain between his lower back and upper hamstring. Some have even suggested his recent illness was simply the consequence of a player who had been pushed to his limit.

The France camp also confirmed that William Saliba has been managing ongoing lower back pain, a problem that forced him off on Tuesday.

Would a slower return benefit Arsenal in the long run?

Once upon a time, a pre-season without Saliba, Rice and Saka would have felt like a huge blow to Arsenal’s hopes of becoming champions, given they represent the spine of the team.

Yet once the Premier League begins on 21 August, the relentless schedule starts all over again. Surely it is better to have your biggest talents refreshed than simply going through the motions.

Arteta was captain of Arsenal when Arsène Wenger felt three weeks between international duty and domestic football was not enough. The Frenchman listened to experts who believed four weeks was more appropriate.

If that impacted the start of the Premier League season, it was a risk he was prepared to take.

We famously lost to Liverpool on the opening weekend of the 2016-17 season when Wenger chose not to start Alexis Sánchez, Mesut Özil, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny, not because they were injured, but because they had not enjoyed a full month away from football.

Even if the current regime followed that same protocol, everyone would still be back in training before the Coventry fixture, although it would leave them with less than a week to prepare.

I just wonder if the time has come for players like Rice to be given an extended period to reset the batteries.

A manager’s job is to manage the resources available to him and, for both the players’ welfare and the team’s long-term interests, it might be worth sacrificing the start of the season.

Even if Rice or Saka protested, even if it cost us a few points, if it meant they were fresher after Christmas… the juice might be worth the squeeze.

Dan Smith

Do you agree with Dan? Should Arteta prioritise the long-term fitness of his key players, even if it means easing them back into the new season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ADMIN COMMENT

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