Meanwhile, we hear that being Arsenal’s most expensive player is a risky business. We might recall Unai Emery did sign a man who at the time was the “most expensive” and then Arsenal found it hard to give him away, although they did in the end.
Of course, the record of “most expensive” at Arsenal has moved on to Declan Rice, who is said to have cost 116m euros, which was more than Nikicolas Pepe, who cost just 80m euros.
The problem for Rice is he plays too much – 360 matches, including internationals, since the start of 2020/1 with virtually no extended breaks. In fact, the way things are going, he could end up playing in 70 club and country games by the end of the WC season – and then Arsenal will need him ready for the new league campaign. And I am not sure we have a cover for him when that happens. Rice has been in the starting XI for every England match in the last three competitions the country has participated in.
Rice played 55 games for Arsenal last season. And the reason for this is where we started – neither England nor Arsenal have a natural replacement for him. And the biggest problem is that basically England doesn’t mind – they just need him to get through the World Cup.
The fact that Arsenal season ticket holders have already paid to watch the best possible Arsenal team play next season doesn’t bother the England management at all, and that is the nature of the job – we all work for our employers. But the one person who could resolve this is Rice, who could simply say, “Arsenal pay my salary, Arsenal fans back me up week after week. I owe it to them to be fit and ready for the next campaign.”