Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants a change made to Premier League squad sizes with the Gunners having been badly hit by injuries this season. The Spanish coach lost Gabriel Magalhaes to a season-ending hamstring injury in midweek and now believes bigger squads are “the only solution” given how hectic a schedule the elite teams face, particularly those in UEFA European competitions. Premier League clubs are currently permitted a 25-man squad and only 17 can be non-homegrown players.
Arsenal could be without four players for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off against Everton with Jurrien Timber and Ben White all fighting to be fit. Riccardo Calafiori is a confirmed absentee and will also miss the midweek Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid at the Emirates. Gabriel’s injury comes just days after Bukayo Saka returned from a hamstring injury of his own that required surgery.
The north Londoners confirmed via a statement that the centre-back “will undergo a surgical repair procedure” and that his aim is now to be fit for the start of next season.
Arteta wants to see changes made to the rules to help look after players given the demands of the calendar. “Logically, if we demand the players to play more games, in more competitions, more travel, with more intensity, the only solution is to have more players,” the Arsenal head coach said.
“I don’t see any other solution. The demands, the intensity, the quality, the pressure, everything is increasing. But I think we have to be very conscious that there are certain limits as well to what the players can do.”
Arteta spent over a decade as a Premier League player and the 43-year-old is fully aware of how taxing it is being a top-flight footballer in England.
“My knee, my hip, my ankles, you know,” he said. “They are the consequences of playing at the highest level in the sport. But you have many other things in your life as well.”
In December and January, Arsenal played 16 matches compared to 11 in 2024 thanks to the new format of the Champions League and a two-legged League Cup semi-final in which they were convincingly beaten by Newcastle.
Arteta revealed that Gabriel was struggling with a hamstring issue throughout that period but was eager to play regardless. He said: “During the West Ham game (on November 30), 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 one tear.
“A massive fight not to play him. Day six, he said, ‘This one definitely I have to play’ but there is still a risk. We decided after a big fight, he doesn’t play. Day nine, another game. The docs say there is a slight risk. He could miss five, six, seven weeks if he gets injured 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 have played him on day six and he had the injury that he sustained against Fulham and he misses four weeks, four months, I would be hammered.”
