'We are not robots' - Arsenal star hits out at football organisers amid club's ongoing injury woes

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya has called out football organisers over the increasing number of games that players are expected to play and says that it’s causing more players to get injured.

The Gunners have faced injury issues recently with captain Martin Odegaard missed two months due to an injury that he sustained whilst on international duty with Norway in September. Furthermore, Bukayo Saka suffered a hamstring injury whilst away with England and Riccardo Calafiori suffered a knee injury during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk last month.

Raya contends that the PFA has to take action to protect players from injury by reducing the number of fixtures they have to play in a short space of time. He told Spanish outlet El Desmarque via SportWitness: “We know that the calendar is what it is, it is very congested for teams that play in all competitions, now also with a Club World Cup in the summer.

“At least Arsenal are not playing it, but the risk of injury is greater. We players have talked a lot about the subject and the union has to get involved, in our case the PFA. We are with them, they will help us as much as possible, but we know that it is not from one day to the next. People have to understand that we are people, we are not robots, and an injury can change our lives.”

Arsenal’s current injury woes

At the moment, Mikel Arteta has up to six players that could miss their next game which comes against Nottingham Forest after the international break. Star winger Saka had to pull out of England international duties with an injury which meant he had to come off during the Gunners’ 1-1 draw with Chelsea prior to the international break.

Declan Rice also had to pull out after he suffered a toe injury, while Kieran Tierney, Calafiori, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu all remain injured which leaves Arteta thin on the ground in defence.

Following Odegaard’s long-term injury, the Gunners slipped down the Premier League table and are now nine points away from league leaders Liverpool. They are without a win in four Premier League games and will be desperate to get some of their big-name players back after the international break in order to catch up to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

Congested Christmas period ahead for Arsenal

Despite Raya’s pleas, Arsenal face a lot of fixture congestion over what is always a busy Christmas period. They will play three games within a week of returning from the international break in late November before staring down seven games in December.

This includes three games in the space of six days between Sunday 8 December and Saturday 14 December when they face Fulham and Everton in the Premier League either side of a Champions League clash against French Ligue 1 side Monaco on Wednesday 11 December.

Fixtures will ease after the new year, but if Raya’s concerns ring true, then Arteta could face further injury concerns over the winter period.