ARSENAL are set to benefit from their rivals’ players being worn out by the World Cup.
The Premier League season paused in the middle of November to make way for an unprecedented winter World Cup in Qatar.
After 14 matches, Arsenal built up a five-point advantage over defending champions Manchester City.
It was a breathtaking start to the campaign from the Gunners – who have not won a league title for 18 years.
Now they will hope to pick up where they left off when they host West Ham on Boxing Day.
And, in one respect, they may well have the upper hand on Manchester City following their players’ lack of game time at the World Cup.
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According to BonusCodeBets, Arsenal players accumulated a total of just 1,339 minutes in Qatar.
That ranks as only the seventh highest in the Premier League, behind the rest of their title rivals.
In theory, this should mean Mikel Arteta’s squad are more rested for the remainder of the season.
Compare that with Pep Guardiola’s City side who racked up 4,628 minutes at the World Cup – nearly 1,000 more than the next most which is Tottenham.
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Manchester United and Chelsea are the only other English squads to have accumulated more than 3,000 minutes of action in Qatar.
However, there is also a downside to Arsenal’s post-World Cup impact as they are set to be without star striker Gabriel Jesus for THREE MONTHS.
The Brazilian, 26, featured in his country’s wins over Serbia and Switzerland but was then ruled out after picking up an injury in the loss to Cameroon.
He subsequently flew back to the UK and underwent knee surgery that will keep him out for a significant amount of time.
Meanwhile, Newcastle, who sit third and just seven points off the top of the table, saw their players feature the third FEWEST of any Premier League outfit.
Eddie Howe’s men have totalled just 453 minutes in the Middle East – with only Crystal Palace (406) and Southampton (270) registering less.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
