Arsenal: Will the World Cup affect transfer plans?

The fitness of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka has been widely debated throughout this World Cup.

The pair are as important for their country as they are for their club and both have put their bodies on the line.

Rice has been dealing with a hamstring issue and had an injection at the back end of last year to deal with it.

The 27-year-old also had a period of illness during the World Cup and was withdrawn at half-time during England’s 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway.

Arsenal played 63 matches in all competitions last season as they reached the Champions League final as well as winning the league title.

Rice played in 55 of those and, with his Arsenal team-mates, joined the England camp later as they took a few days rest.

Now it will be decided how long a break Rice needs before he returns to pre-season with the Arsenal squad.

The midfielder will automatically get the mandatory 21 days holiday once the World Cup is over.

Saka is in a similar situation to Rice, where rest is the biggest benefit to the fitness issue he has been dealing with.

The winger has been carrying an Achilles injury since March and admitted that playing in the tournament was a “gamble”.

England manager Thomas Tuchel said the winger was now “pain-free”. However, he has had to still manage Saka’s game time and he did not get off the bench as England lost to Argentina in the semi-finals.

As well as the Achilles issue last season, Saka missed matches because of a hamstring problem and will be hoping that a break this time out will ensure he regains his top level of fitness.