Squad size is one of Mikel Arteta’s obsessions. Over the summer, the Arsenal manager pushed the club to increase the number of players, broadening and strengthening an already sizeable, talent-rich group that last season brought the Premier League back to the Gunners’ trophy cabinet after 22 years, while also reaching the Champions League final. It was no coincidence, then, that Tzolis arrived from Club Brugge for £40 million, Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle for £87.5 million and Konsa from Aston Villa for almost £60 million, against the departures of Trossard, sold to Besiktas for £18 million, and Kiwior, who moved to Porto for £17 million. But the Spanish manager wants to take the argument beyond the transfer market. He wants the rules changed, and has asked the Premier League to increase the number of players who can be named on the bench for each match.
As reported by the Guardian, Arsenal have asked the league to allow more players to be included in a matchday squad. In England’s top flight, clubs can currently name 20 players for a game, with at least three required to have been developed in English youth systems. In Spain, La Liga allows 23 players, while in Serie A the limit is 25. Arteta wants the Premier League to move closer to the rules used elsewhere in Europe, and has argued that the current system risks having consequences for players’ wellbeing. With the calendar becoming increasingly crowded and players carrying an ever-growing number of matches, he sees little reason why English clubs should have smaller squads available to them than their international rivals.
“I’ve asked the Premier League several times if it would be possible to increase those numbers. I got to the point of begging them, simply to protect the wellbeing of the players, which is the most important thing. I think every team ideally needs more than 20 outfield players to cope with the level of commitments we face, especially when you take international football into account.” Arteta was speaking ahead of the English champions’ trip to Aston Villa. “But these are the rules and we have to play by them. We have to stay very close to the players and explain these situations to them in the right way, making everyone feel important, because they will be.”
Clubs can register a 25-man senior squad for the entire season, meaning players over the age of 21, with at least eight having been trained in England. As a result, five senior players from the registered squad have to miss out on the matchday squad for every game. For Arteta, that can be difficult to manage, particularly psychologically, because telling a player that he will not take part in a match can have an effect on his wellbeing. “The question has to be put to the players: what do they want? If they put their hand up and say, ‘No, I’d rather stay at home and not travel,’ then I think we have a problem, because it would mean they don’t love what they do, which is living the matchday. But I’m convinced that if we asked the players, they would all want to be part of the team on matchday, because that is when they can feel fully fulfilled,” the Arsenal manager added.
The problem, according to Arteta, comes when a player has to be told that he will not even make the squad: “You have to tell him: ‘You’re not even part of the squad for this game.’ And it’s really difficult. It doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t help the club, it doesn’t help the player’s assessment and it doesn’t help the player feel part of something. It’s a real problem that would have a very simple solution.” Arteta also pointed to the difference between the Premier League and the other major European clubs: “I’ve done some research among all the biggest teams in Europe and we’re not different from the others. Most of them, I would say 90%, have more players than us. So we’ll have to deal with that as well.”