Mikel Arteta argues the Premier League and Champions League either need to increase the size of their squads or allow more substitutions.
In a week where Arsenal picked up another couple of injuries to potential starters in Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey, it’s perhaps no surprise that Mikel Arteta had something to say about the demands placed on his squad.
Arsenal have already had plenty of key injury absences already, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and William Saliba also missing games.
Yet the schedule is only set to become more congested for the top teams, with the Champions League expansion in 2024/25.
“If we have more games, more competitiveness, and physically the standards are higher — by playing more minutes — we have to do that [increase the 25-man squad size] or instead of five subs, we have 10,” Arteta said on Friday.
“The five subs is now something normal but it was a big fight to go from three to five. I cannot imagine the game in the conditions we are in today after last year and the World Cup without five subs, it would be so difficult.”
“If the calendar extends, for sure we would have to think of not dropping the quality,” Arteta continued.
“The only way to do it is players have to have certain availability and you need players to pick. It’s about everybody.
“When is this going to stop and how long will it take for us to make the right decisions? The laws will change and probably our capacity to do things during games will change as well. We will have to adapt, for sure.”
When everyone is fit, Arsenal have looked dangerous this season, but that hasn’t been a common occurrence.
Gabriel Jesus may have starred for the Gunners away in Sevilla on Tuesday, alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, but it was only the first Champions League game he’d played alongside those two, and now he’s out with an injury of his own.
That’s not solely on the football calendar, but it’s a problem that the footballing authorities in charge of scheduling certainly aren’t doing much about.