Mikel Arteta makes Premier League rule change request as Arsenal worry emerges

Mikel Arteta has called for Premier League to expand matchday squads to match Champions League rules and protect player mental health

Mikel Arteta has confessed his eagerness for a Premier League rule change regarding the number of Arsenal players he can include in a matchday squad. When questioned about excluding players like Christian Norgaard, he said: “At the moment there are two or three players that have to be out of the squad, that’s a reality, I cannot change that.

“These are the rules of the Premier League next season, instead of 18 outfield players it will do 20, I beg them from here, like it’s in the Champions League, because it’s much better to manage the squad, to maintain the value of the players, to maintain the mental health of the players.

“Nobody wants to get out of the squad, so I beg them that if we can, between all of us, help us on that, we can bring them, we can deal with hotels, travels and all that, and that would be very, very helpful for everybody, because that’s the worst thing when you need to leave somewhere.

READ MORE: Champions League draw LIVE: Arsenal and Liverpool’s paths determined as Newcastle learn opponentsREAD MORE: Arsenal transfer news: Move must be agreed today as savvy contract clause holds up deal

“But at the end you have positions played, I can play in various positions and you cannot overload certain positions and weaken them, so that’s normally the process to make that decision, because it’s never about, if it’s about how he trains, how he behaves, how he talks, how he helps everybody, it needs to be in every minute of every game.”

Norgaard featured for 89 minutes in Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Kairat on Wednesday, representing just over a seventh of his total playing time this season.

Arteta later detailed the mental aspect of not being selected: “Because we have a really unique job, which is we have the ability to transform somebody’s life, career, which is great. But as well, every week we have to tell somebody, tomorrow you don’t do the job. You’re not even allowed to travel with the team.

“So tell me a job that you do that. I cannot go to the kitchen tomorrow and say to two of the chefs, today you don’t cook, just go there and see how they cook or go home. It’s really tough.

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!** Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page**

“So someone that wants to feel part of that, he needs to be there. He needs to travel, he needs to be there and he has to have the feeling that he has a chance. When you take that chance away, you have to leave that player because he feels that he’s not good enough.

“Because at the end, your decision is clear. I choose another 20 players in front of you. And I think this is something I worry about. Why? Because the demands on games are bigger. So we need bigger squads.

“So it doesn’t make a lot of sense to restrict that, in my opinion. So I think we need to expand that and give the possibility to allow everybody to be part of that. And then we can make the right choice in relation to the game.

“And then we can manage better the minutes, the psychological and emotional moment, and then how we want to change the game. And I think it’s better for absolutely everybody. That’s my opinion.”

As it stands, 20 players can be included in Premier League matchday squads with the rules significantly different in Europe. A maximum of 23 can be named by Arteta but there are several other regulations that permit numerous additional names to feature throughout the competition.

No more than 25 players can be included in List A but further stars can be named in List B, provided that, as stated by UEFA, “he is born on or after 1 January 2004 and has, since his 15th birthday, been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year”.

Arsenal arguably possess the deepest squad in the Premier League but that hasn’t prevented injuries from occurring with the schedule remaining relentless.

Those worries have lessened for Arteta recently with Max Dowman appearing to be the only absentee following encouraging updates on Jurrien Timber and William Saliba.

Regarding the defensive pair, who were absent from the midweek victory, Arteta said: “Yeah, they are okay. Obviously, they have played a lot of minutes, they’ve been carrying a few niggles, and it was a really good opportunity for us to offload them a little bit and refresh them.”

Arsenal have been carefully nursing Kai Havertz through a knee issue, with his appearance against Kairat marking his first start in almost 12 months. The Germany international made an immediate impact during his 45-minute stint, netting a brilliant goal and setting up Viktor Gyokeres’ opener.

Arteta confirmed his readiness, stating: “Yeah, he’s ready, obviously he started the day,” before adding: “Obviously it’s been a long period and now we need to manage that load and the games that we’re going to select for him to start, but there was no reaction to that.”

“I think it was super positive, you could see straight away the impact that he can have in the team, so yeah, he’s ready.”