Mikel Arteta has revealed Arsenal are assessing their warmup routines after four players suffered fitness scares just before matches — and the Gunners boss went on to speculate over scrapping the pre-match tradition entirely.
Riccardo Calafiori became the latest casualty last Sunday and was withdrawn minutes before kick-off to be replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly for their FA Cup fourth-round win over Wigan.
Calafiori was also sidelined with a muscular problem for a month earlier in the campaign after breaking down in the warm-up against Brighton.
Bukayo Saka did not play as planned against Leeds United earlier this month while William Saliba felt an injury in August’s defeat at Liverpool yet started the game and was taken off after just five minutes.
Asked if it was something he was looking into, Arteta said: “Yeah, yeah, Big time. They were very different. The first one was Willy when he rolled his ankle against Liverpool. Then we had two incidents with Riccy in the warmup in a really similar way.
“The other one was Bukayo after he rested in midweek, he didn’t play against Kairat, and then against Leeds he gets an injury. Very unusual. Probably happened once or twice in six years I have been here and it happened four times there.
“So obviously we are looking at it. On Willy’s one, very difficult to see. Sometimes as well you want to try and test a player before to see if they are ready and the warmup is another opportunity to do it.
“Bukayo’s is very random because he never gave any symptoms or signals away that this could happen in the warmup. It is what it is, we have to learn.”
Arteta admitted the recent spate of incidents has made him more concerned in the build-up to games.
“I can feel in my body I am more aware of it,” he said. “When I am in the office and the moment I hear my door, somebody steps in, I am like ‘no, please’ because it is a moment that is very tricky.
“When you chance Riccy for Bukayo, you have to change a lot of things within that gameplan: positions, there’s a lot of things that are different and you have two minutes to do that.
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“It makes you a better coach because you have to be ‘what if, what ifs’ and there are more and more what ifs just before the game and then a lot during the game so you need to be more prepared.”
Pushed on how adaptable the warmup routines were, Arteta continued: “I was a player as well and we like certain routines and that’s the way you tell your body ‘it is coming, it is coming, it is coming.’
“To change that sometimes is tricky. It is a really good area to have a look. What would happen if we don’t do the warmup? Because then. At half-time, we go and sit almost for 15 minutes and then go full gas in the second half. Maybe it is something to think about.”
Calafiori and Ben White are expected to be available for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Wolves.
Kai Havertz may also recover in time but Martin Ødegaard will miss out with Arteta “very hopeful” the midfielder will be able to face Tottenham on Sunday.
