Mikel Arteta urges Premier League to expand matchday squads over player welfare

Mikel Arteta has publicly urged the Premier League to increase matchday squad sizes to protect players' mental health and better manage modern demands, the Arsenal manager said at a press conference on Jan 30, 2026. Arteta called for the league to align with UEFA rules, noting Premier League clubs currently name a bench of nine substitutes — a matchday squad of 20 — while Champions League rules allow up to 12 substitutes.

"At the moment, there are two or three players that have to be out of the squad," he said. "I beg them from here, like it is 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, because nobody wants to be out of the squad." The Arsenal boss described the emotional toll of selecting squads under the current limit, calling management a "really unique job" in which every week he must tell players they will not be involved.

"Every week we have to tell somebody: 'Tomorrow, you don't do the job. You're not even allowed to travel with the team,'" he said, adding a manager cannot simply exclude staff in other professions without similar consequences. Linking his plea to the congested fixture schedules and greater physical demands on elite players, Arteta argued larger matchday squads would allow managers to "manage better the minutes," reduce injury risk and keep players engaged.

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