It took Bruno Guimaraes just six minutes to take the match away from Leeds’ defiant grasp — something the clearly exhausted Declan Rice struggled to do during his first hour on the pitch.
The Brazilian’s strike, well taken after latching onto Rice’s clever flick to fire past James Trafford from just inside the area, sealed victory for Arsenal, adding to Riccardo Calafiori’s earlier goal, after what had been a testing lunchtime affair.
Arsenal had been the masters of their own downfall before Guimaraes’ intervention. Errant passes and a lack of composure in the final third were hallmarks of a tepid first-half display.
That was a surprise; not least since it came off the back of the 3-0 drubbing by Brighton, a scoreline which could have and should have been wider. Pre-match, Leeds had been pencilled in as the unfortunate victims of revenge by the champions.
Instead, quite the opposite transpired. Daniel Farke’s men were impressive. Their physicality proved too much for Arsenal to handle. David Raya managed to keep them at bay initially before Leeds took a deserved lead through James Justin on 55 minutes.
It was the performance of Rice, though, who particularly stood out. And not for the right reasons.
Declan Rice struggled in Arsenal’s win over Leeds on Saturday and he desperately needs a rest
Mikel Arteta relies so heavily on Rice – and rightly so – but he must heed the warning signs
He is, quite simply, worn out, both mentally and physically. And who can blame him? He made 55 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal last season, starting 49 of those 55 matches and playing 4,454 minutes. That was 91 per cent of Arsenal’s available minutes – no Arsenal outfielder played more.
It’s why, despite withdrawing from England duty recently to have a well-deserved three weeks away from playing matches, the midfielder still looks in desperate need of careful management going forward.
If Rice wasn’t ready to start on Saturday lunchtime then he should have been rested. If he wasn’t fit enough for international duty, why would Rice be ready for the first match back after the break?
The problem is Rice’s ability to produce a moment of magic, like the neat flick to set up Guimaraes, makes him so hard to drop for Mikel Arteta.
But his body can only sustain so much and he is edging near breaking point, as the Leeds display reflected.
His wayward passing stifled the Gunners’ play in the first half. He was uncharacteristically lax on the ball, taking too many touches before having his pocket picked as he struggled to reach his free-flowing best. Rice’s sluggishness on the ball also hurt his side when Arsenal had opportunities to break forward.
Ultimately, Rice managed to salvage a decent display because that’s what top players do. He, like Arsenal, improved in the second half.
But Rice shouldn’t be allowed to continue to play through the pain. Don’t forget he did so at the World Cup, where he managed neural pain in his hamstring.
Rice himself last month said: ‘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.’
At his best, the 27-year-old glides forward, leaving opponents in his wake before quickly distributing the ball into attacking areas.
It makes any drop off all the more noticeable. Arteta must heed the warning signs and rest him soon before his star man hits breaking point.
Rice salvaged his display and set up Bruno Guimaraes’ winner but he is nearing breaking point
Arteta puts faith in Dowman
16-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman had a spot on the bench against Leeds, but Cristhian Mosquera was not so fortunate. Arteta loves a defender, and Mosquera proved to be a fine one during last season’s title success.
Yet, Arteta opted to go with Dowman, whose time to fully breakthrough can’t be far away now.
With Christos Tzolis injured, Noni Madueke played on the left wing, leaving Dowman as the obvious cover for Bukayo Saka on the right flank.
If Saka were to pick up a knock or underperform, Dowman is the next cab off the rank.
From his showings thus far, the teenager would take his chance and not look back. Watch this space.
