Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should give no consideration to playing Declan Rice again this season even if he can recover quickly from a suspected hamstring injury, according to Gunners expert Charles Watts.
The England international was a surprise omission from the matchday squad for last weekend's 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, and Arteta was tight-lipped on the nature of his injury, but it has now been reported that he is suffering from a hamstring strain.
Arsenal are apparently keeping their fingers crossed that Rice has not sustained a serious problem, but he is almost certain to miss this weekend's clash with Newcastle United and is uncertain for the visit to Southampton on the final day of the Premier League season.
While Rice may yet be fit for the trip to St Mary's, Watts has implored the Gunners to err on the side of caution with the former West Ham United man, whose 50 appearances this season is the joint second-most of any Arsenal outfielder behind Leandro Trossard.
"He's just clocked up so many minutes and I'm not surprised something happened," Watts told Sports Mole. "Especially the last couple of months, when he's basically been carrying Arsenal on his back. He's been so, so good while others around him have struggled.
"We're not looking at a [Bukayo] Saka or [Kai] Havertz type situation, but if there's any doubt on it, go and put your feet up now. Don't take any sort of risk. The worst thing that can happen now is that Arsenal try and push it and he ends up really aggravating it and it becomes worse than it is.
"What Declan Rice needs now, like so many of the players, is a summer of sunbeds, relaxation, not even thinking about football. The last thing he needs is to have his holiday plans thrown out the door, having to go to London Colney every day for rehab and basically missing out on his whole summer.
'Arteta needs to wrap Rice up in cotton wool'
"It would be awful. So no risk, let him go and have his holidays. There's a big game at the weekend, but you can do without him. You did without him against Liverpool. That's what your squad's for. Make sure he is ready to go when he comes back for pre-season and he's fully recharged. Wrap him up in cotton wool."
Rice's unexpected absence at Anfield saw makeshift striker Mikel Merino drop into his more familiar left eight position as Trossard started up front, but Arsenal also risk without being both the Spaniard and the Belgian for the visit of Newcastle.
Merino will definitely be absent on account of his sending-off against Liverpool and subsequent one-match suspension, while Trossard pulled up with an apparent hamstring issue of his own on Sunday and is expected to miss out too.
As Kai Havertz is also not expected back from his operation until the final week of the season at best, Arteta will have to start an emergency option in midfield on Sunday, most likely Oleksandr Zinchenko or Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Now that Riccardo Calafiori has battled back from a knee problem, Arteta has scope to use Lewis-Skelly in midfield - the position he became familiar with during his academy days - but Watts cannot see any benefit of moving him out of his left-back role.
"I would probably go with Zinchenko, just because Lewis-Skelly is so good at left back," Watts said when asked who could replace Rice. "You look at Newcastle and the threat they pose on the counter-attack; Jacob Murphy has had a great season, so many assists for him.
"Interestingly, when Zinchenko has played in those eight roles, when he's impressed me the most is when he's filled in for Odegaard playing on the right side. But I still think he is probably the most likely option.
"It would be interesting to see Lewis-Skelly play there, and Calafiori has been building his minutes up, so maybe he's ready to start at the weekend. So Arteta is going to have to get creative whichever way he goes about it, and it'll be interesting to see which way he goes."
Will Arsenal have Jorginho back against Newcastle?
© Imago
The experienced Jorginho would ordinarily be an alternative option in the left eight role too - despite primarily functioning as a number six for Arsenal - but the Italian, like Rice, was also nowhere to be seen at Anfield.
The 33-year-old has been recuperating from a punctured lung sustained in last month's draw with Brentford, and he made the bench for the Champions League semi-final second-leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain prior to the Liverpool game.
Jorginho did not make it onto the pitch at the Parc des Princes, but he was undertaking warm-up exercises with the other substitutes, and there is still hope that he will play at least one more game for Arsenal before his anticipated exit on a free transfer.
However, Watts does not expect the ex-Chelsea man to return on Sunday, adding: "He basically went to PSG as another coach, there to support the team. I don't think he was anywhere near ready. He hadn't been training. Jorginho is so important behind the scenes that I think Arteta and the players just wanted him to be there to help.
"He was warming up for the entire game, but he was never coming on. He was just warming up so he could be there and delivering Arteta's words in his own words. I'd be surprised with Jorginho, he hasn't played for so long.
"Even if he's training this week, you can't really put him in such a physical game. It's a really big decision Arteta's got to face because of the red card to Merino, the injury to Trossard, suddenly you've got no forward, you've got no left eight with Declan Rice out as well."
Jorginho is believed to have verbally agreed a transfer to Brazilian giants Flamengo when his Arsenal contract expires this summer; the Gunners have seemingly decided against taking up their option of a one-year extension.
However, Arsenal have taken another step towards the signing of Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi, who has reportedly given the green light to a move as the Gunners prepare to trigger his £50.5m release clause.
Ben Knapton
