Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged authorities to rethink squad sizes and substitutions as football’s increasingly congested fixture schedule takes its toll.
The festive season is traditionally one of the busiest times on the football calendar. This year, it is no different.
Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers will lock horns on Christmas Eve, marking the first time a game will be played on December 24 since 1995.
Arteta said (via Arsenal’s official website): “We will need more players. The players have a certain amount of energy.
“The battery lasts so long and we will burn them. We will need more players if that’s the case. We have to adapt.”.
“If we have more games, more competitiveness, and physically the standards are higher – by playing more minutes – we have to do that or instead of five subs, we have ten.”
Arteta noted the transition from three to five substitutions, which is now common, highlighting the early resistance to this change.
“The five subs is now something normal, but it was a big fight to go from three to five,” Arteta added.
“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. The only way to do it is players have to have certain availability, and you need players to pick.
Arteta’s call for larger squads and more substitutions serves as a stark reminder of the need to strike a balance between football’s gruelling schedule and the wellbeing of its athletes.
