According to reports from Mirror Football, a number of Manchester United’s players are in what Louis van Gaal has described as ‘the red zone’, whilst London Evening Standard report that three midfielders are likely to leave Arsenal at the end of the season.
Manchester United face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League this evening and Louis van Gaal has devoted much of his programme notes to discussing the fitness of his players.
The Red Devils will have played five games in 17 days by the time their Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion is concluded on Saturday and the Old Trafford boss is aware he must manage his squad accordingly.
He wrote in tonight’s programme; “In between matches we have to concentrate on the recovery of the players, as a number are now in what we call the red zone. Fitness isn’t really an issue at this time of the year as we have plenty of matches, it is all about managing each individual player’s needs and rotating the team to ensure they are ready when called upon.”
Meanwhile, London Evening Standard claim Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky are all likely to leave Arsenal when their contracts expire at the end of the season.
The veteran trio are all above 30 years of age and have received just 139 minutes’of Premier League game-time combined this season, with Rosicky yet to register an appearance in any competition after undergoing knee surgery that will see him sidelined until December.
All three are important figures in the Gunners dressing room but there is an increasing belief that their squad roles should be reserved for younger midfielders. Currently, there are no plans to extend their contracts but Arsene Wenger has the best part of seven months to change his mind.