Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
The Champions League group stage has expanded from six matches to eight this season, and Manchester City’s Rodri – before he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out for the campaign – warned players could be forced to strike if the calendar continues to expand.
Gunners defender Jurrien Timber, who was sidelined for nine months last season with a knee injury, has also described the current schedule as “dangerous”.
And Arteta, speaking ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Everton at the Emirates on Saturday, raised the prospect of matches being reduced from 90 minutes.
When asked how football might evolve in the future, the Spaniard said: “It is going to be very constrained and very related to new regulations and new rules.
“Because with the amount of games we are going to have to play, the type of squad you are going to have is going to be vital.”
It was then put to Arteta that games could become shorter to avoid injuries amid the increased number of matches.
“That’s an option,” he replied. “We have changed the Champions League format, to play more games, home and away, so it is a very real possibility I think.”
Arsenal host the Toffees – their third match of seven this month – bidding to bridge the gap to Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League. Arsenal trail the Reds by six points having played one game more.
The Gunners will be fresh from a convincing 3-0 win against Monaco in the Champions League which saw Bukayo Saka score twice, taking his direct goal contributions for the season to 21. In the Premier League, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (28) has managed more.
Saka’s electric form has led some to suggest that the England international could follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who both started out on the wing, and move into a more central role.
And Arteta continued: “That will depend a lot on the qualities and the players who are around him.
“For somebody to be an inside instead of an outside, somebody has to be outside and that player, that full-back, that attacking midfielder and nine has to allow the space to do that. But I’m certainly very open to keep evolving players.”