Declan Rice is walking a fine line Arsenal can’t afford to ignore

Declan Rice is Arsenal's most important player, by a long shot. He is a consistent piece in their otherwise injury-stuck roster this season. However, that's where the concern comes in: He's running his body in the ground every match, giving his all for three points, and there are question marks about when his next proper break will come in.

There is a lot of talk around Declan Rice's second engine. When other players are down and out, he can recharge in the second half of a game and play it like he's fresher than ever. It's a superpower, and it's a superpower that Arsenal are bound to exploit.

Declan Rice's schedule isn't cooling down (it's heating up)

After the cup final against Man City this weekend, Declan Rice will travel for international duty with England. As the Three Lions prepare for the World Cup this summer, there is no denying that Declan Rice will play a pivotal part.

Thomas Tuchel has already made it clear that he will not do his players' domestic clubs any favours. He has one responsibility only: Leading England back to its former glory days. In other words, he does not care about Declan Rice being involved in a race for the quadruple where England are concerned.

When can Arsenal finally rest Declan Rice?

After the international break, Arsenal travel to the South Coast to face Southampton in the FA Cup. Now, you could argue that this is when Declan Rice will earn his rest. However, Arsenal know better than most the threat that Southampton can bring when they're at their best. Right now, the Saints are in the Championship, but they'll have eyes on coming back up, given their good form of late.

Look, Declan Rice can handle the workload. He's a rare breed of a player. However, it's common sense that the more intensity a player plays with, the more they are inviting injury to themselves.

Arsenal fans across the world will be keeping an eye on England in the upcoming break, hoping that Declan Rice doesn't pick anything up that would derail Arsenal's trophy hopes.

No matter which way you look at it, no Arsenal fan would groan if Declan Rice was rested for that trip to Southampton after the break. If he is going to get any rest between now and the end of the season, it will be then.

Besides, it's not much of a rest considering Arsenal travel to Lisbon for a game three days later. Nevertheless, this is a really, really exciting time to be an Arsenal fan.