Mikel Arteta Urges Premier League to Expand Matchday Squads
Mikel Arteta has cranked up the pressure on the Premier League, urging officials to act “swiftly” and bring in bigger matchday squads before this season is out.
The Arsenal manager wants the current limit of nine substitutes raised again, arguing that expanding benches is now essential for “player welfare” in an era of relentless domestic and international fixtures. Clubs were previously restricted to seven subs before the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Arteta, the issue is no longer theoretical. It is personal and immediate.
Arteta: ‘I’ve been begging’
His squad faces Aston Villa tonight, yet even with nine places on the bench he has already had to make brutal calls this season. Big names such as Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus have been cut from matchday squads, left watching from home rather than even making the trip with the team. He believes those omissions create “a real problem” for everyone involved.
“That is why I have been begging Premier League officials to extend those numbers just for the safety of the players, which is the most important thing,” Arteta said.
“I think every team needs more than 20 players on the pitch, ideally, to maintain the level of demand in the international matches we face, but these are the rules, and within these rules, we have to play.”
The Arsenal boss is not just talking about tactics or options. He is talking about human beings, about how it feels to be frozen out on a matchday when you are fit, available and ready to contribute.
‘Extremely hard. And it will not benefit anyone’
Arteta admitted those “difficult” conversations with players gnaw at him, particularly when the alternative for them is sitting at home in front of the television while their teammates compete.
“We need to be very close to the players to explain those situations in the right way, so that everyone feels their importance, because they will indeed be important,” he said.
He wants the question flipped back onto the dressing room.
“The question should be put to the players more than anyone else. What do they want? If they say: no, I would rather stay at home, then we will have a problem because they will not like what they are doing.”
Arteta is convinced he already knows the answer.
“I am sure that if you ask the players, everyone would want to be part of the team on matchday, otherwise you would have to tell one of them that he is not even part of the matchday squad. That is extremely hard. And it will not benefit anyone.”
From his perspective, the current rules damage more than just individual egos.
“This does not benefit the club, nor does it benefit the assessment of the player, nor does it help them feel part of it. In my opinion, it is a real problem and it has a very simple solution.”
Arteta has made his plea. The calendar is only getting heavier. The question now is whether the Premier League is willing to move just as quickly as the game it governs.
