Declan Rice has been taken out of the firing line ahead of Arsenal's clash against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League. Next month, the Gunners will lock horns with Cristian Chivu's side at the San Siro in the penultimate week of the 'league phase'.
The highly-anticipated match could prove decisive in the race for a place in the top right, which grants automatic qualification to the knockout stages. So long as the 26-year-old midfielder stays fit, he'll be available to face the Italian giants.
Rice was previously somewhat of a doubt for the game, having been shown two yellow cards ahead of Arsenal's clash against Club Brugge. If the England international had been booked a third time at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday night, he would've been suspended for one match by UEFA.
The governing body's rules state: "As from the first match in the league phase, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, that did not result in a red card, as well as after any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.)."
Rice, however, was omitted from the matchday squad due to illness. Speaking to reporters at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday, Arteta confirmed that the former West Ham captain would be left at home, alongside William Saliba and Leandro Trossard.
"No, so Declan was ill," said the Arsenal boss. "He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William is still not available, and Leo again picked another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don't expect that it's going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here."
The accumulation of bookings expire upon completion of the quarter-finals, and they're not carried forward to the semi-finals. Inter Milan will be the second and final Pot One opponent of the 'league phase', so Arteta will want a full squad available to him.
Arsenal were dealt a blow by not having Rice for the trip to Belgium, but they'll reap the benefits of his absence when they face the Italian giants next month. The following week, the Gunners will play their final game of the group stage against Kairat Almaty at the Emirates Stadium.
A match against Pot Four opposition could offer a few players, such as Rice, much-needed respite before the knockout stages begin. At the start of the season, Arteta challenged his players to 'change the history of the club' and win the Champions League.
"Well, that tells you, with our long history, how difficult it is because we haven't won it yet, and that's the opportunity," Arteta said when asked about Arsenal's failure to win Europe's top-flight competition. "That's how I see it.
"But pressure is the opportunity that drives that energy and that willingness to be better every single day. Every decision has to be with that standard and with those expectations, so let's give our best chance to try to do it.
"The big clubs [who have won it], they try seven, eight, nine times and they maybe win two. So in this competition it's going to be one that you fail much more than you succeed.
"That's the nature of it. That's the history of our club and that's what we want to change..."
