Arsenal’s best players have looked physically spent at the World Cup.
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and William Saliba have been imperative to Arsenal’s recent success, but the toll of being the heart of this team is showing.
The trio have all been managing separate injury problems throughout the tournament and playing through pain.
Mikel Arteta will be concerned, especially considering how it will no doubt affect their plans for the start of their Premier League title-defending campaign.
But this has been coming. Injuries have plagued this team under Arteta, particularly during title run-ins and have ultimately cost them silverware dating back to the 2022-23 campaign.
It was a huge issue during the 2024-25 season, where Arsenal had practically been written out of the title race by Christmas, and famously spent months of the season playing Mikel Merino at centre forward.
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That inspired the depth-focused transfer window of last summer, which ultimately paid off, but they still were not without their problems.
Last season, of Arsenal’s 22 outfielders, only Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly avoided injury entirely.
The squad depth got them through, but only just. Arsenal are not prepared to leave it to chance again.
Arsenal looking to replicate Aston Villa’s injury record
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have observed Aston Villa’s injury record under Unai Emery as a model worth replicating.
In the last two seasons, Villa have the best injury record of any English club competing in European football. Two key members of that setup are now heading to the Emirates.
Dr Arnaldo Abrantes, Villa’s head of medicine, is set to join Arsenal. He will link up with Carmen Marquez, a former Villa physiotherapist who moved to Arsenal earlier this year.
Spanish physio Joaquin Acedo, a long-term Arteta associate dating back to his playing days at Real Sociedad, was also brought in during the final months of last season to investigate Arsenal’s fitness processes and is now fully integrated into the staff.
Head of sports medicine Dr Zafar Iqbal has departed, as have head of sports science Tom Allen and lead physical performance coach Sam Wilson, with new physios set to join.
Mikel Arteta is changing his training approach
Arsenal have realised internally that things have to change — not just in personnel but also in approach.
After the defeat to Bournemouth in April, Eberechi Eze relayed the players’ concerns to Arteta directly, regarding how hard they were being pushed in training and their recovery time.
The manager listened, and the players were given more breathing room. Days off were increased and the intensity of sessions was dialled back, which clearly paid off in the run-in.
Rice, Saka, Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and more will all need proper recovery time after the World Cup.
With the title defence beginning on 21 August, making sure Arsenal’s best players are fit throughout the season matters just as much as any transfer business.
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