Arteta explains Rice substitution against Hull, rules out injury
Mikel Arteta has moved to clarify why Declan Rice was hauled off midway through Arsenal's win over Hull, confirming the substitution had nothing to do with injury.
Rice was withdrawn just after the hour mark at the Emirates Stadium with the game still goalless. Mikel Merino replaced him, and ten minutes later Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the match.
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The timing of the change raised eyebrows given Rice's workload this season. He had started all ten league matches and played the full 90 minutes in four of the previous five games before facing Hull.
Arteta confirms no fitness issue
Speaking after the match, Arteta confirmed the England international is fine and was not carrying any knock. That means Rice is still expected to link up with the Three Lions for their upcoming Nations League fixtures.
Rice's minutes have come under scrutiny this week after he played the full 90 against Slavia Prague on Wednesday night, a match in which Arteta made six changes to rest several key players. Rice remained on the pitch for the duration despite appearing fatigued in the second half.
Arteta defends his management of Rice
The Arsenal manager addressed the criticism directly, insisting he is carefully monitoring Rice's workload and pointing to game time he has already been given off this season.
“The only player, the only player in this squad that for two games in the Carabao Cup has been left out of the squad,” Arteta said, as quoted by the Evening Standard. “At home with two days off. That's my concern.
“We are really looking after him more than any other season. The way he's training and all the load. That's it. Here are the demands of this football club and you have a player like him. Not only him because there are many others that have even less time. That has to be the mindset. If you start to put other things in your brain, damage. Erase them, get them in the bin and just focus on what you have to do.”
Bukayo Saka remained absent for the Hull fixture, with Arteta continuing to manage the winger's return to full training carefully.
With Rice set to link up with England for the Nations League fixtures and the Premier League schedule continuing to pile up, Arteta's approach to rotation and workload management is likely to remain under the spotlight in the weeks ahead.
