‘Arsenal face massive 72 hours over Declan Rice as crisis threatens’ – Paul Merson
Paul Merson thinks Arsenal could be in trouble if the injury that Declan Rice picked up against Brentford is serious and rules him for an extended period.
Arsenal headed into their clash against Brentford hoping for a routine victory on home turf to continue their title charge and widen the gap to Man City once more.
They got just that as Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka struck in each half to seal a 2-0 win, but the game was not without its woes for the hosts.
Christhian Mosquera went off with an injury just before half-time, while Declan Rice also had to be substituted late on after going down and needing attention from the Arsenal physios.
Rice has been one of the league’s best midfielders over the last few years and is pivotal to the Gunners’ title chances, so they will be hoping that he is not seriously injured ahead of their huge clash against Aston Villa next up.
Merson insists Arsenal need Rice fit ahead of massive Aston Villa clash
Rice was superb against Brentford as he kept the visitors’ attackers at bay and got Arsenal forward with intent, with three chances created and eight passes into the final third from defensive midfield.
Speaking live on Sky Sports following the game on Wednesday (3 December), current pundit and former Gunners star Paul Merson admitted that they could be in trouble against Villa this weekend if Rice is not fit to play following his injury.
He said: “They’ve got to hope. I sat on here a couple of weeks ago, the Bayern Munich game, I said the one player they cannot miss is Declan Rice.
“Cannot miss him. He’s gone off injured, hopefully it’s a precaution…just his calf at the back.
“But for me, he’s the one they cannot miss and it’s a massive, massive few 48, 72 hours to make sure he’s fit for that game on Saturday where Villa could blow the title race wide open.”
Mikel Arteta confirms Rice injury – ‘never good news’
Arsenal fans will be on tenterhooks until a new update emerges around Rice’s condition following the blow, with manager Mikel Arteta playing it coy in the immediate aftermath of the game.
Speaking to the media post-match, he said: “Yes, obviously it’s never good news. Declan [Rice] had to come off. We don’t know; we have to see tomorrow what he’s got.”
According to Transfermarkt, the 26-year-old has astonishingly only missed five games due to injury in his eight-year-long career so far, with four of those coming last season after he suffered a broken toe.
The Gunners’ only loss of the Champions League league stage came in his absence against Inter Milan last November, but they have signed the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard since then.
It remains to be seen whether Rice will be fit to face Villa on Saturday (6 November), but there is bound to be a new update soon due to the quick turnaround before then.