England suffered elimination from the World Cup on Wednesday night, but Arsenal’s English internationals can’t return home just yet.
Arsenal’s England internationals weren’t quite as involved in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final as in most of the previous rounds, with only Declan Rice starting the match.
In every previous knockout round, Rice had started alongside either Bukayo Saka or Noni Madueke. The final group-stage win over Panama was the only other match at the tournament in which fewer than two Arsenal players started, and even then, two came off the bench.
But on this occasion, Rice was the only starter, withdrawn after 82 minutes, and none of Arsenal’s three England substitutes made it onto the pitch.
Unfortunately for England, they failed to produce without the help of the Arsenal men. Having taken a 1-0 lead with Rice on the pitch, the team let it slip after the midfielder’s substitution, losing 2-1.
But Arsenal’s four England internationals can’t return home yet, as they have to play a third-place play-off match against France on Saturday.
If Thomas Tuchel has any sense, Saka and Rice won’t be anywhere near the pitch on Saturday. The pair clearly need a rest, and this is not a game you risk them for.
There’s an argument that Saka shouldn’t even be at the tournament anymore, and the same is true for William Saliba of France on the other side. They’ve clearly been playing through injury, and that should no longer be necessary.
But it seems likely that Madueke and Eze are rotated in, given their relatively light knockout-stage load so far.
After that, they’ll begin their minimum three-week holidays, ending on the weekend of August 8th-9th. That will give them one week back before the Community Shield, and two weeks before the Premier League opener.
In all likelihood, considering their injury issues, Saka and Saliba will not be involved in that opening game.
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