Khan: Rice is 'worn out' and Arteta must heed the warning signs

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Declan Rice salvaged a shaky personal performance to help set up Bruno Guimaraes' winner against Leeds, but Daily Mail reporter Isaan Khan believes the midfielder is running on empty and needs a rest before he hits breaking point.

Arsenal beat Leeds 2-1 on Saturday thanks to goals from Riccardo Calafiori and Guimaraes, but it was far from comfortable. Daniel Farke's side were physical and direct, taking a deserved lead through James Justin on 55 minutes before Arsenal recovered in the second half. Writing for the Daily Mail, Khan singled out Rice's display as the main concern from the win, describing him as 'worn out, both mentally and physically'.

A heavy workload catching up

The numbers behind the concern are stark. Rice made 55 appearances in all competitions last season, starting 49 of those matches and playing 4,454 minutes — 91 per cent of Arsenal's available minutes, more than any other outfield player at the club. According to Khan, that workload is now showing in his performances, with Rice 'uncharacteristically lax on the ball' in the first half against Leeds, taking too many touches and being dispossessed as Arsenal struggled to get going.

Rice did recently withdraw from England duty to take three weeks away from matches, but Khan argues that decision only reinforces the concern rather than easing it. 'If Rice wasn't fit enough for international duty, why would Rice be ready for the first match back after the break?' Khan wrote, pointing out that despite the rest, Rice still looked below his best on his return.

Rice himself touched on the scale of his recent seasons last month, saying: 'I think for the last six seasons, even since my West Ham days when it was in Europe, I've played 60 plus (games) every season.' Khan also noted that Rice played through nerve pain in his hamstring at the World Cup, underlining a pattern of pushing through discomfort rather than stepping back.

Why Arteta keeps turning to him

The difficulty for Mikel Arteta, as Khan frames it, is that Rice's capacity to produce a match-defining moment — like the clever flick that teed up Guimaraes' winner — makes him almost impossible to leave out. But the article's central warning is that this reliance cannot continue indefinitely without consequence, with Rice 'edging near breaking point' according to the piece.

Elsewhere in the same report, Khan noted that 16-year-old Max Dowman was named among the substitutes against Leeds ahead of Cristhian Mosquera, with Dowman seen as emergency cover for Bukayo Saka on the right following Noni Madueke's switch to the left in place of the injured Christos Tzolis.

With a congested schedule still ahead, how Arteta manages Rice's minutes in the coming weeks is likely to be closely watched by supporters and pundits alike.