Arteta hints Arsenal may scrap warm-ups after string of pre-match injuries

Mikel Arteta has suggested Arsenal could change their pre-match routine after a run of late warm-up injuries, the latest being Riccardo Calafiori pulling out of the starting line-up minutes before kick-off — the fifth such incident this season. Calafiori withdrew from the XI to face Wigan in the FA Cup after suffering a warm-up problem, his second similar issue in 2025-26, having also missed the Premier League game against Brighton in December.

Bukayo Saka was forced out before the Leeds game in February and William Saliba rolled his ankle before the clash with Liverpool in August. Arteta said the club are looking closely at the issue. "Yeah, yeah, big time," he added, noting some cases are hard to predict, that "Bukayo's is very random," and that "it is what it is, we have to learn." The manager even floated scrapping the traditional warm-up, asking: "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.

arsenal, mikel arteta, riccardo calafiori, warm-up injuries, bukayo saka, william saliba, fa cup, premier league, wigan, scrapping warmups