Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have faced a persistent challenge this season in the form of injuries to pivotal players.
Mikel Arteta has expressed concern that Arsenal are in a “really dangerous circle” with injuries, but refuted claims that overtraining is the underlying cause.
The Gunners have seen a number of key players sidelined this season, with Declan Rice, William Saliba, and Leandro Trossard unavailable for their Champions League match against Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Trossard, who recently returned from injury and scored in the defeat to Aston Villa, was substituted despite being introduced as a second-half substitute.
Arsenal are also currently without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Cristhian Mosquera, while Viktor Gyokeres is in the process of returning from injury.
Due to injury, Arsenal have altered their Champions League squad, replacing the injured 15-year-old Max Dowman, who was hurt playing for Arsenal Under-21s, with Gabriel Jesus, who has been sidelined since January following cruciate ligament surgery.
When questioned about whether overtraining was responsible for the injury concerns, Arteta dismissed the notion.
“No, because we don’t train,” Arteta stated, highlighting the condensed schedule between matches. He noted that his team engaged in only “20 minutes” of training on Tuesday.
“We don’t have time to train. So training is not there but obviously the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more [as] a consequence. It’s a really dangerous circle that one.”
Last season, Arsenal also faced extended absences for Havertz and Bukayo Saka, while Gabriel was sidelined for a crucial period towards the end of the campaign.
Arteta affirmed that, alongside Arsenal’s medical staff, he is constantly evaluating the factors contributing to the injuries.
“Some of the players have played over 150 games in two seasons so it starts to get overloaded. You start to ask them again and again and again to do that [and] at some point they will break down,” he said.
“It’s something that we are constantly looking at. We have played a lot of games with a lot of players missing that puts a lot of stress and then more injuries but we are on it.
“I’m really happy what we’re doing in terms of the medical stuff and everything that we are trying to bring together, but sometimes as well we need some things to go on our side.”
The congested football calendar has been a contentious topic in recent months.
To alleviate fixture congestion, the Premier League has rescheduled Arsenal’s and Crystal Palace’s matches later this month.
Arsenal’s match against Everton and Crystal Palace’s game at Leeds, originally slated for 14:00 GMT on Sunday, December 21, will now be played at 20:00 GMT a day earlier.
The changes were made due to the two teams facing each other in the EFL Cup quarter-final on December 23.
Arsenal have already participated in 22 games across all competitions, competing in the Premier League, Champions League, and Carabao Cup, and will begin their FA Cup campaign in January against Portsmouth.
Last year, the leading European leagues, including the Premier League, and the global players’ union Fifpro, filed a legal complaint against Fifa alleging “abuse of dominance” in the sport.
Representing 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs across 33 countries, the European Leagues stated that the complaint was filed with the European Commission to safeguard player welfare.
Last month, Fifa announced a series of measures aimed at addressing player welfare, including a minimum of 72 hours of rest between matches and a rest period of at least 21 days at the end of each season.
However, Fifpro, which was not consulted prior to the announcement, accused Fifa of undermining efforts to tackle player welfare issues by consulting with “Fifa-friendly organisations for consultation processes rather than engaging with the recognised football representative bodies”.
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