Don Pacifico wrote:We should also use the squad players we have more so they don't always lack match sharpness whenever we desperately need them.
Interestingly on the tiredness front, saw an interview with Ben White after the game where he suggested or second half was down purely to the team being sloppy. Arguably, tiredness would still contribute to poor decision making but thought it was noteworthy that he didn't make the excuse of too many matches.
he would never make that excuse after what Arteta said on Thursday regarding Saka's minutes. Arteta basically said top players play tons of minutes and these players need to be ready to play lots of minutes.
where is Areta potentially right and where is he wrong? top players do play tons of minutes. data just bears this out. however, Saka was a bit unique in that he was on the young side amongst players who played a lot of minutes last year. so there might be some risk there, but i don't have the benefit of a whole team of sports scientists and physios behind me.