Mikel Arteta’s Premier League Rule Change Request—And Why Arsenal Would Benefit

The Spaniard cited the need to protect the mental health of players among his reasons.

Mikel Arteta has a bone to pick with the Premier League lawmakers. | Robin Jones/Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants Premier League powerbrokers to expand the number of players permitted in a matchday squad—citing the toll on the mental health of professionals who are removed entirely from the chances of selection each weekend.

The Premier League permit 18 players—11 starters plus the seven substitutes—to be named for each fixture, whereas UEFA competitions such as the Champions League allow 20. Arteta is keen for that to change.

“Next season, instead of 18 outfield players, hopefully, it will do 20,” the Arsenal boss told assembled media on Friday morning. “I beg them from here, like it’s 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 get [left] out of the squad.”

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Why This Rule Change Suits Arsenal More Than Others

Arsenal have a wealth of talented substitutes to call upon. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to restrict [squad sizes],” Arteta argued. “I think it’s better for absolutely everybody. That’s my opinion.” It will not be a universally popular one.

Arteta’s reasoning for more players is obvious. Besides the psychological and emotional aspect, it also allows him to use all of his available options to change the course of a game or manage minutes within any contest. Arsenal have the deepest squad in the division—why wouldn’t you want all those players at your disposal?

However, for clubs with more modest resources, this would be akin to turkeys voting for Christmas.

Expanding squad sizes is simply a consequence of introducing the five substitutes rule, which itself unnaturally favours clubs with greater wealth to spend on more players. Initially brought in as a reaction to the jumbled seasons of fixture congestion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, five subs have been here to stay ever since.

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Arsenal’s Strength in Depth

Rank	Team	Average Squad Market Value
1.	Arsenal	£45.7 million
2.	Man City	£39.2 million
3.	Liverpool	£34.7 million
4.	Chelsea	£32.1 million
5.	Tottenham	£26.2 million
6.	Newcastle	£22.8 million
7.	Man Utd	£22.4 million
8.	Aston Villa	£18.1 million
9.	Nottingham Forest	£18 million
10.	Brighton	£16.4 million
11.	Crystal Palace	£15.8 million
12.	Brentford	£14.7 million
13.	Everton	£14.5 million
14.	Bournemouth	£14.4 million
15.	West Ham	£12.8 million
16.	Fulham	£12.6 million
17.	Wolves	£11.3 million
18.	Leeds	£10.7 million
19.	Sunderland	£10.5 million
20	Burnley	£7.5 million

Data via Transfermarkt.

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When the additional subs ruling was first brought in, Sean Dyche, then of Burnley and currently in charge of Nottingham Forest, captured how this was just the latest rule change to suit the division’s ruling class.

“I think it quite obviously favours the big clubs because they can keep more players happy and more players involved by making more changes,” he sniffed in 2020.

“A lot of football often does. We all had to change the size of our home pitches to make sure they aligned with the big clubs who were in Europe. We all had to cut the grass the same length. So most things are pushed forward by the big clubs in the division.”

That skew towards the elite has only been heightened over the subsequent six years, which suggests that if the Premier League leaders are in favour of bigger squads, it may soon come to pass.

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Arteta Frets Over the Power a Manager Can Weild

Mikel Arteta has selection issues to deal with every week. | Catherine Ivill-AMA/Getty Images

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag once described making difficult decisions as “the difference between a manager and a human being.” Arteta is all too aware of the ongoing battle he has with his human instincts each weekend.

“We have a really unique job, which is we have the ability to transform somebody’s life, career, which is great,” he reflected. “But as well, every week we have to tell somebody, ‘Tomorrow you don’t do the job. You’re not even allowed to travel with the team.’

“So tell me a job that you do that. I cannot go to the kitchen tomorrow and say to two of the chefs, ‘Today you don’t cook, just go there and see how they cook or go home.’ It’s really tough.

“So someone that wants to feel part of that, he needs to be there. He needs to travel, he needs to be there and he has to have the feeling that he has a chance. When you take that chance away, you have to leave that player because he feels that he’s not good enough.”

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How Can Arteta Inspire Premier League Rule Change?

Premier League CEO Richard Masters is in charge. | IMAGO/PA Images

The Premier League is owned by the clubs within it, so each major decision is put up for a vote between all 20 teams. Any ruling needs a two-thirds majority, so at least 14 clubs would have to be in favour of Arteta’s suggestion.

This democratic decree has been openly challenged by Manchester City, who labelled it a “tyranny of the majority” in one of the most tone deaf declarations by any Premier League club ever. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola’s side would most likely support Arteta’s proposition—unlike several other teams.

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