Arsenal: Handling the festive schedule carefully

Arsenal are in the midst of the festive schedule, with just three games in less than a week. Arsene Wenger needs to handle it carefully, especially given the makeup of his squad.

The Premier League season is long and arduous. The physical challenges are great; the injuries are frequent and damaging. The best teams are able to preserve their freshness throughout the year, ensuring that they are playing their best football for extended periods, not just fleeting moments. That has rarely been the case for Arsenal.

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What has been far more familiar has been their rare ability to offer a scintillating hope thanks to a few dazzling displays, only to rarely replicate that same vivacious level of performance throughout the season.

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There are many reasons for that. It would be foolish to blame one person or factor. But one key issue has been the inability of Arsene Wenger to protect his players. Specifically, of many of the prominent contributors of his squad, how many have completed a full season without some time of absence due to an injury? The likes of Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Laurent Koscielny, and Santi Cazorla are all prime examples.

Now, it would be unfair to blame for Wenger for all their continued absences. Injuries do happen. Football is a contact sport, it requires a physical effort, and, sometimes, that has a negative effect on the human body. But Wenger must be able to rotate through his squad to ensure that his players maintain a good level fitness throughout the whole year. At no stage in the season is that more true than during the festive period.

Arsenal will play three games in the next six days. They will play 10 games in December. From November 18th through to January 14th, which is a period of 58 days, Arsenal will play 16 games. That is an average of a game every 3.625 games.

That is a huge number of games to play. And when the type of players that are in the squad is factored into the equation, it is clear to see why adopting a strategy of significant and smart rotation is so important.

Take Jack Wilshere and Laurent Koscielny, for example. The former has made just three Premier League starts all year. He has not completed a season without an injury since 2011. Koscielny, meanwhile, has a bum Achilles and is looking increasingly slow and lethargic across the ground.

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So as Wenger prepares his team to face Crystal Palace on Thursday night, he needs to keep a careful eye on how he is spending his resources. His players are precious commodities; they need to be protected and preserved. That comes through intelligent rotation.