Arsene Wenger said he is unable to provide Alexis Sanchez with the break the Chilean requires due to Arsenal's injury crisis.
Wenger claims Sanchez needs a rest given his high workload, playing 69 matches for Arsenal since joining 15 months ago alongside a busy international schedule for Chile.
Sanchez was gifted a short leave of absence to sit out Arsenal's pre-season tour of Singapore following a gruelling but ultimately successful 2015 Copa America tournament in his home country.
However, Wenger feels he is now unable to drop his energetic striker due to the injuries to fellow attackers.
"I am worried because before he went away with Chile he was a bit jaded. But if I ask him 'are you tired?' you can guess the answer," he said.
"At some point I will give him a break. At the moment I am a bit short because there's no [Alex] Chamberlain, no [Aaron] Ramsey, no [Theo] Walcott, no [Jack] Wilshere, no [Danny] Welbeck.
"There are not many offensive positions where I can rotate."
"The difference between the teams has narrowed and today it's more how much can you be close to your best that will decide the result, rather than the team you play against," he said.
"In the Premier League now every game is physical, fast, with two totally committed teams - you cannot afford to make a single mistake."
