“Players Are Not Machines” says Arteta as Arsenal Injuries Mount

Mikel Arteta has warned that Arsenal cannot keep absorbing injury after injury, insisting an overloaded fixture calendar is pushing his squad to breaking point. His comments came minutes after a 2-0 win over Brentford that again ended with key players limping off.

The Gunners extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka, yet the victory felt bittersweet as both Cristhian Mosquera and Declan Rice were forced off with fresh fitness concerns. For a team already stretched thin, Arteta suggested this is not an Arsenal problem but a wider crisis across elite football.

Arsenal walked into Wednesday night already missing Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kai Havertz for extended spells this season. The Brentford match simply added more names to the growing list. Mosquera exited before halftime with what Arteta described as a knee or ankle issue. Rice lasted until the eighty-third minute before a calf problem cut his night short. With a trip to Aston Villa scheduled just seventy-two hours later, the timing could not be worse.

Speaking afterward, Arteta did not hide his frustration. He argued that the current match calendar is impossible to sustain. He said the Premier League and international bodies must reconsider how often teams are being asked to play.

Arteta said, “Give us another day, especially the teams that are playing so much in Europe. To everybody in general, I think we can do that because we’re all going to benefit from that.”

He added that the current schedule is unlike anything seen before. “We’ve never had such a schedule at every level, not only in the Premier League but in every competition internationally as well. So we need to try to do that, please.”

Then came the line that summed up his entire argument: “The players are not machines.” It was a simple statement but one that clearly reflected the reality inside the Arsenal dressing room.

Amid all of this, Merino continues to be a revelation. The Spain international grabbed his tenth league goal of the season while filling in as Arsenal’s makeshift center forward. His rise has been so unexpected that Arteta admitted he spent the entire summer stressing about how a new striker would fit into the squad. With Viktor Gyokeres arriving and Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz already in place, the manager believed he would face selection headaches. Instead, injuries removed the dilemma entirely.

Arteta said, “The whole summer I was thinking, if we bring a nine, what is going to happen with Gabi Jesus and Kai? And I had a lot of nines. So far we haven’t had a problem because they’ve been injured. So live the present, live the moment and deal with the situation when it comes.”

The message was clear. Arsenal are flying at the top of the table, but the price is becoming harder to ignore. How long can they keep surviving without a healthy squad? Will the Premier League or governing bodies actually adjust the calendar? And if they do not, how many more players across the league risk hitting the same physical wall?

For now, Arsenal will try to reset quickly before facing Aston Villa on Saturday. The league may not slow down, but Arteta has made it clear something needs to change before the players and the title race pay the ultimate price.