Arteta Rejects Overtraining Claims As Arsenal Injury Crisis Deepens Ahead Of Champions League Trip

Arsenal’s injury woes continue to mount, but manager Mikel Arteta is clear — his training methods are not to blame. The North London side will face Club Brugge in the Champions League without seven key players, further highlighting the strain on an already depleted squad.

While attackers Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke have returned, Arsenal are still missing several pivotal figures:

• William Saliba – central defender

• Gabriel Magalhães – central defender

• Cristhian Mosquera – defender

• Kai Havertz – midfielder

• Leandro Trossard – knock

• Max Dowman – ankle

• Declan Rice – illness

The absences come on the heels of a dramatic 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa, in which Arsenal were without first-choice central defenders Saliba and Gabriel.

Arteta Addresses Overtraining Rumors

When pressed about whether overtraining might be behind the surge in injuries, Arteta firmly denied the claims:

“No, because we don’t train. I mean, today we’ve done 20 minutes, so surely it’s not because we overtrained the players.”

He went on to explain the dangerous cycle caused by a depleted squad:

“Obviously, the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more. There’s a consequence to that and it’s a really dangerous circle. In terms of what happened in the past, we are not having more injuries.”

Arteta also highlighted the role of cumulative fatigue:

“Some of the players have played over 150 games in two seasons, so it starts to get overloaded… At some point, they will break down. But yeah, it’s something that we are constantly looking at. We are on it and I’m really happy with what we’re doing in terms of the medical stuff and everything that we are trying to bring together.”

Arsenal’s Injury Record

Arsenal have now recorded 95 injuries since the start of last season, second only to Brighton’s 97 in the Premier League. This statistic underscores the scale of the problem and the challenge facing Arteta ahead of crucial fixtures in both domestic and European competitions.

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