Top Prem players clock 112,524 miles in international break

andrewbinner 17:57 22/11/2014
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  • Flying solo: Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez traveled 16,743 miles during the international break.

    The international break is a burden on every Premier League manager.

    The recent 10-day sojourn for friendlies and European Championship qualifiers has seen players at the 'big five' Premier League clubs travel a staggering 112,524 miles.

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    Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez amassed the most miles out of any player in the Premier League with 16,743 when he travelled to Chile to play against Venezuala and Uruguay last week. 

    The Chilean did not get long to recover from Wednesday's game as he lined up for Arsenal against Manchester United in a very different time zone on Saturday.

    Another Arsenal player, Joel Campbell, flew 13,674 miles to play for Costa Rica against Uruguay in Montevideo.

    Out of the 54 players from the big five clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal – who travelled during the international break, not every player was guaranteed game time. 

    Manchester United's Paddy McNair was an unused substitute in Northern Ireland's 2-1 defeat to Romania. It was a 4,710 mile round trip from Liverpool to Belfast to Bucharest, but at least there was no chance of injury. 

    Only four of the 54 players played 180 minutes over the two games – Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Matic, Branislav Ivanovic, and Martin Skrtel of Liverpool, with Jack Wilshere was the next closest with 177 minutes from England's two games against Slovenia and Scotland. 

    It can be difficult to determine the exact effects on players as a result of the intensive travelling over the international break. 

    Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is one of a number of figures to have called for a winter break, claiming the demands on players is greater than ever as the Premier League is getting faster and more physical.

    Though perhaps it is telling that Arsenal, who accumulated the most air-miles and minutes for a team with 45,969 miles and 1,137 minutes between the 13 players involved, crashed to a home defeat to Manchester United on Saturday. 

    Manchester City’s players travelled the least with 13,596 miles – a major decrease from last year's figure of 83,136 miles after the November international break.

    Furthermore City have the lowest number of minutes and miles combined between the big five teams in the Premier League. 

    A big factor contributing to the drop was the involvement of Sergio Aguero, Martin Demichelis, Palbo Zabaleta and Willy Caballero in Argentina's game against Portugal in Manchester.

    With little travel needed for the players, only Demichelis saw game time for Argentina with the other players unused substitutes.

    Is it argued that depleted player performances are caused as a result of the intensive travelling over the international break.

    "Not only do they travel at international level across the world, but the constant pressure of the Premier League is more demanding, both physically and mentally," said West Ham manager Sam Allardyce.

    Ultimately this didn't affect Manchester City after the international break in November 2013 when they went 12 successive games unbeaten in a run that lasted until February. 

    Like all sports, different players recover at different periods.

    Irrespective of the details, the international break has its good and bad points in the middle of such a hectic schedule for footballers. 

    How your team fared over the international break?

    Arsenal                                 Miles: 45,969                          Minutes: 1,137

    Chelsea                                 Miles: 18,128                          Minutes: 1,084 

    Liverpool                              Miles: 17,252                          Minutes: 712

    Manchester City                    Miles: 13,596                          Minutes: 654

    Manchester United                Miles: 17,579                          Minutes: 666

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