Arsenal could be about to face an injury crisis, as they look to defend a Premier League title for the first time ever.
Mathematically, the Gunners only clinched the 2025/26 title mere days before the final day of the campaign, after a gruelling season that saw them play 63 games in four competitions, reaching two finals and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
All the while, Arsenal had serious injury concerns to juggle all season – which could well continue into next term, as Mikel Arteta looks to continue where his side left off.
Arsenal could be dogged by injury problems, as they look to defend their title
2024/25 was a nightmare season for Arteta, with his side stripped to the bare bones and half a dozen of his players requiring surgery, including Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.
In response, the club brought in eight new arrivals to London Colney last summer to cope with competing on four fronts. It worked: the added depth got Arsenal over the line in the league, but Arteta was still without the likes of Saka, Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino for swathes of the season, and others such as Eberechi Eze, William Saliba, Gabriel and Piero Hincapie all suffering injuries that kept them sidelined in big moments, too.
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With 16 Arsenal players initially called up to World Cup 2026 (before Timber dropped out), it doesn't look as if many Gunners are getting much of a summer off, either.
Timber started the Champions League but was ruled out of the Netherlands' tournament before it even began with the groin injury that sidelined him from March onwards, while Saka and Rice were both called up for England, and both have since confirmed that they have been managing injuries for the second half of the season. With both vital for club and country, there isn't much of an opportunity to rest them before the season kicks off again in August (especially if the Three Lions progress deep into the tournament).
Saliba has been a doubt throughout the World Cup due to a back issue, with France resting the defender against Norway: he, too, is likely to go far at the World Cup, while Hincapie will play a fifth game of the tournament against Mexico, after being cleared following a knock sustained against Germany for Ecuador.
Odegaard and Havertz have both returned to fitness to play in North America after a series of knocks that have stopped them from building consistent minutes; White, too, saw his run in the first team come to an end with a knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup.
While officially, Arsenal only have two players currently injured in Timber and White, there is a bigger worry at play for Arsenal.
Arsenal have played 52, 58 and 63 games in 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, respectively, with less rotation and less squad churn than some of their rivals. The effect that this has had on some of the generals of those three years is apparent: White, for example, played through significant pain to cover for Jurrien Timber, lost to an ACL tear in 2023, while Saka set a club record for 83 consecutive appearances for Arsenal, without a significant back-up in his position until Noni Madueke was signed as his deputy.
In February 2025, Arteta described Havertz as a “genetic powerhouse”, claiming, “his robustness, his availability is unbelievable,” amid concerns of fixture congestion. Mere days later, the German suffered a hamstring tear – and he's not completed a string of 90-minute performances for his club since.
Arsenal have already made efforts to revamp their medical set-up
Earlier this month, Arsenal parted with their head of sports medicine, Dr Zafar Iqbal, in what appeared to be a move to address the spate of injury issues they have had over the last few seasons.
There may yet be half a dozen new signings, too. FourFourTwo understands that there could be new faces in defence, midfield and attack, as Arteta looks to refresh his squad once again.
But with Martin Zubimendi suffering from burnout at the end of the season, Saliba, Hincapie, Rice and Saka all potentially carrying injuries into the new season, Odegaard and Havertz still yet to return to their respective peaks, and both senior right-backs currently injured, Arsenal may travel to Coventry City on the opening night of the season with a selection dilemma.
