Arsenal have no plans to rotate their team and rest players for their midweek Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace in preparation for next week's Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, manager Mikel Arteta said on Tuesday.
Image: Glyn KIRK, AFP – file picture
Arsenal have no plans to rotate their team and rest players for their midweek Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace in preparation for next week's Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, manager Mikel Arteta said on Tuesday.
Arsenal, second in the table on 66 points, are all but out of the running in the Premier League title race with leaders Liverpool needing just one more win to secure the crown.
Arteta's side are also out of the FA Cup and were knocked out of the League Cup in the semi-finals, leaving the Champions League as their only realistic chance of lifting silverware this season, but Arteta dismissed the possibility of benching key players against 12th-placed Palace.
"We cannot think in those terms, when the players are fit and available and want to play, they have to play," he told reporters ahead of Wednesday's clash at Emirates Stadium.
"They are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances and physically and emotionally they are good. They have the rhythm and that is when they are at their best.
"If they are not available, there is no discussion. If they are not in a good condition to perform we are not going to play them. But if they are, we will play them."
If Arsenal lose to Palace, Liverpool will be crowned champions, with the Merseyside club's captain Virgil van Dijk saying their entire squad might gather together to watch Arsenal's match.
Asked if that had given Arsenal added motivation to win, Arteta said: "Our incentive is to win our game and to do our best to continue with our run that we are in right now, the rest we cannot control."
The Spaniard also provided an injury update on Bukayo Saka, who was on the receiving end of a clumsy challenge by Leif Davis in a 4-0 victory over Ipswich Town on Sunday, which left the England international hobbling and eventually forced his substitution.
"Yeah we have to wait and see how he reacts after the session but he is nothing too serious. I think he will have a good chance to play tomorrow," Arteta said.
"(Riccardo Calafiori) is out and (Jorginho) as well. Unfortunately Jorgi will be out for a few weeks."
After facing Palace, Arsenal have a six-day break before they host PSG in the first leg of their Champions League tie on April 29.
"We have more days, the amount of options we have is not that many, especially because of where the players are coming and the amount of minutes they can play," Arteta said.
"It's good to have a little gap because we are really short in numbers."