Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has called for an increase in the number of substitutions allowed in football after losing Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus to new injuries. The Gunners are set to face Sheffield United in a crucial match as they aim to secure the English Premier League title this season.
The absence of Jesus and Partey could pose challenges for the team, and these injuries aren’t the first time both players have been sidelined. Footballers around the world are facing challenges in maintaining their fitness due to the packed calendar of club and international matches.
Not long ago, teams were limited to making only three substitutions during a match, and this was recently increased to five. Arteta is now advocating for a further increase in the substitution allowance, suggesting that it should be expanded to ten substitutions to provide teams with more flexibility and mitigate the impact of injuries on their squads.
The Spanish gaffer said, as quoted by ESPN:
“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.
“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.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Footballers are being made to play too many matches in a calendar year, which is why most of them get injured quickly.
If nothing is done, we will hardly see a player who can play an entire season without being injured not so far from now.
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Hahahahaha from the person that always makes late substitutions and rarely rotates.
How many games have we used all our subs? 🙃
I am firmly AGAINST the farce that having ten subs in normal games would bring.
Not a cat in hells chance of that being allowed, even were MA to officially request it, which IMO he will not.
Why’s Arteta counting Partey amongst his team injuries. The last time he used him was in august. He doesn’t use him even when he’s available. He only needs to start worrying once he loses Jorginho and Harvetz, those are his trusted players.
On the question of substitutes, I think he’s completely lost his bearings. Even players would hate to be replaced enmass at halftime; Where does he put team cohesion and momentum when he changes 10 players in a match?
Imitation is the sincerest sign of flattery you could ever pay to your mentor, why do the gaffer has to go that length to sounds like Guardiola?
Pep Guardiola suggests players strike in order to reduce amount of matches in football calendar.
The gaffer would be better served if had imitate his mentor and rotate his players in his squad
Arteta needs to trust all his troops not play one team in every game on the calendar.
It’s more of a lament than an expectation of any change.
I fully appreciate injuries crop up due to the number of matches played but this is for the most part due to the success of the team. European league games come thick and fast as do domestic trophies. It’s down to Arteta to use his squad and/or identify his aims for the season and pick players accordingly
Arteta should be the last person to make such a suggestion. He’s also stated that his current squad is thin ,yet, he doesn’t rotate and keep players involved, fresh and fit. Some players are burnt out (Saka and Odegaard), some are favored despite their poor defensive displays and performances (Zinchencko, Jorginho, Havertz and Raya),while others barely gets an opportunity to prove their worth at Arsenal or they are simply just left seating in the cold and warming the bench. Arteta stop the complaints and make full use of the squad. Trust and show more confidence in players like ESR, Vieira, Tomiyasu, Nelson, Partey and Kiwior. The timing of your subs and rotation of players will be vital in sustaining the premier league title challenge. If you you can’t make use of the few squad depth at Arsenal, why ask for moe. Early Excuses!
It seems to me perfecrtly obvious and profoundly true that MA does NOT trust a number of his so called” lesser squad players”!
And that shows to me that MA is plainly dissatisfied with the depth of talent within his squad, which means he will be trying as best he can, within the financial limits all clubs have, to move out a number presently IN the squad and replace with better ones.
I doubt that ANY Gooner would agreerthat all our squad players are good enough. I certainly dont. anyway.
BUT, BUT, BUT,while they are here and fit to be picked, only a foolish mamager would risk over extreme fatique and a jaded first choice eleven who ALL need , at tmes, rest.
The most obvious examples right now are Saka and Odegaard, given that defenders are under less physical strain than creative players, generally speaking.
Though I remain a staunch supporter of MA, I refuse to deny that I am greatly concerned by his obvious reluctance to use certain players, while preferring certain others.
I speak especially of ESR, and the mistaken sidelining of RAMSDALE. But there are others too and unless he can somehow magically increase our squads depth of talent, and into a talent he himself has CONFIDENCE in USING, we are heading for a fall, IMO.
Alll sensible managers rotate their squad and MA plainly does NOT do so nearly enough. REALITY!
Couldn’t agree more Jon
It slightly alarms me that a couple or so players are ones that he and Edu have brought into the club. He or we can hardly complain now that the squad is thin