Mikel Arteta has pleaded for wider Premier League squad limits to be introduced to protect players following Gabriel Magalhaes’s season-ending hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old centre back picked up the injury in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday, which requires surgery and has ruled him out until the start of next season.
It follows a spate of injuries which have severely hampered Arsenal this season. Forwards Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are currently missing for the rest of the campaign.
Previously, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Gabriel Martinelli were all absent for long periods.
League rules require teams to submit a maximum squad of 25 prior to the season starting, and then confirm their squad again after the January transfer window closes. On match days, a maximum of nine players can be on the bench.
Ahead of Arsenal’s game against Everton on Saturday, he said: ‘Logically if we demand the players to play more games in more competitions with more travel and more intensity, the only solution to deal with it is more players. I don’t see any other solution.’
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has pleaded for wider Premier League squad limits to be introduced
Arteta is eager to protect players players following Gabriel Magalhaes’s season-ending injury
Arsenal also had to cope without star Bukayo Saka for a lengthy period this campaign
Arteta revealed that the north London club had to ‘fight’ with Gabriel in November to rest him after he sustained a hamstring niggle in Arsenal’s 5-2 victory against West Ham in November.
When asked about whether star players like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard may have to be rotated next season because of the risk of injury, he replied: ‘So we have those discussions. I don’t know how we’re going to do it. For example, we had a situation with Gabi Magalhaes during the West Ham game (in November), he felt something in his hamstring. We played three days later, six days later and nine days later.
‘Three days later, he said he was ready to play with a grade 1b. He said, ‘I’m not feeling anything, I want to play’. Massive fight not to play him. Day six, ‘This one definitely I have to play’. Everybody’s like ‘There is still a risk (if he plays)’. We decided after a big fight, don’t play him.
‘Day nine, another game – ‘This one for sure’. The doctor (said) ‘There is a slight risk, he can miss five, six, seven weeks if he has an injury after that’. We decided not to play him. On day 12. he plays. But I was very tempted on day six to play him. If I would’ve played him on day six and he has the injury that he’s sustained now against Fulham and he misses four months, (cut throat gesture) I would be hammered.
‘There is an element, guys, that we cannot control. So we try to do our best.’
