Arteta Criticizes The Crowded Calendar
After Bukayo Saka's serious injury, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has criticized football calendars, which have become increasingly tight and are preventing proper training for players.
Football authorities seem to fear any empty spaces, leading to matches being scheduled at a frantic pace: every weekend in the league, along with international competitions, domestic cups, and international fixtures.
For top teams, playing every three days has become routine. However, this demand has had serious consequences for players. With the rapid succession of matches, recovery time has increased, while training sessions have been reduced. "Playing and recovering is not a good system because we don’t train. The body needs to train. We are starting to lose many factors in the physical aspect, which is key to performance," Arteta lamented.
The accumulated physical toll
The physical toll of previous seasons is now taking its toll. On Saturday, Bukayo Saka suffered a hamstring injury during the match against Crystal Palace, and he is expected to be out for several weeks. "It’s probably the result of an accumulation of several seasons. Bukayo and Declan [Rice] have played over 130 matches in two seasons, so what will happen in the second, third, or fourth? If it continues like this, it’s probably not sustainable," Arteta said in a press conference on December 23.
Faced with this widespread issue, Arteta and his staff are doing their best to "turn players into monsters so they can cope with everything." However, these short-term solutions only delay the inevitable occurrence of serious injuries, like Saka’s, which joins those of other players such as Rodri, Pedri, Odegaard, Carvajal, Militao, and Gavi. Over the past two years, Saka has played 115 matches between his club and national team, and has had four consecutive seasons with over 50 games. This takes a toll on the body of a 23-year-old player.
