Arsenal will not rest players for Crystal Palace clash, says Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta dismissed the possibility of benching key players against 12th-placed Palace. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED Apr 23, 2025, 12:40 AM

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LONDON - Arsenal have no plans to rotate their team and rest players for their midweek Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace in preparation for next week's Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, manager Mikel Arteta said on April 22.

Arsenal, second in the table on 66 points, are all but out of the running in the Premier League title race with leaders Liverpool needing just one more win to secure the crown.

Arteta's side are also out of the FA Cup and were knocked out of the League Cup in the semi-finals, leaving the Champions League as their only realistic chance of lifting silverware this season, but Arteta dismissed the possibility of benching key players against 12th-placed Palace.

"We cannot think in those terms, when the players are fit and available and want to play, they have to play," he told reporters ahead of the April 23 clash at the Emirates Stadium.

"They are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances and physically and emotionally they are good. They have the rhythm and that is when they are at their best.