Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has canceled the Christmas arrangements for the club's first-team players this year.
Although the team has no fixture on Boxing Day, the manager has decided that all members of the club's first team must report to the training ground on December 25. Arsenal will face Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on December 27, but Arteta wants the players to train on the morning of Christmas Day. Of course, after the training, the players can go home and do not need to stay in a hotel.
Arsenal's last game was against Crystal Palace at home in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on December 23. In theory, the club's stars may get a day off on Christmas Eve. For many European players, having dinner with family and exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve is more important.
Similarly, there are many English players in the Arsenal squad. Therefore, for the likes of Sambi Lokonga, Ben White, Eberechi Eze, Madueke, Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, the Christmas turkey dinner and side dishes will have to wait until they return home from London Colney Training Centre.
In terms of training, most importantly, Arteta must hope that the team's injury problems will improve. Although the Arsenal manager denies it, there is no doubt that his training intensity is too high.
Moreover, the players' injuries are complex and varied, but there is a basic fact: if players are overworked, they are prone to injuries—and this is currently the case at Arsenal.
