Arsenal's title defence threatened by mounting injury concerns heading into 2025-26

Arsenal face a potentially disruptive injury situation at the start of their 2025-26 Premier League title defence, with a cluster of key players either managing ongoing fitness problems or set to return from the World Cup with minimal rest before the new season begins in August.

The Gunners clinched the 2024-25 title in the final days of a gruelling 63-game campaign that spanned four competitions, including two finals and an FA Cup quarter-final run. That workload came at a cost: half a dozen players required surgery during the season, among them Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, while Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino all missed significant stretches.

The concern now is that the summer offers little respite. Sixteen Arsenal players were initially called up to the 2026 World Cup in North America, meaning a large portion of Mikel Arteta’s squad will have limited time to recover before pre-season preparations begin. Timber, who dropped out of the Netherlands squad with the groin injury that had sidelined him from March, and White, ruled out of the tournament with a knee problem, are the two players Arsenal officially list as injured.

But the broader picture is more troubling. Saka and Declan Rice have both confirmed they were managing injuries through the second half of the season while continuing to represent England, and with the Three Lions potentially progressing deep into the tournament, the window to rest and rehabilitate them before August is narrow. William Saliba has been used carefully by France due to a back issue, while Piero Hincapie is set to play a fifth game of the tournament for Ecuador against Mexico after being cleared from a knock sustained against Germany.

Odegaard and Havertz have returned to fitness and are building minutes in North America after separate injury setbacks, but neither has yet managed a sustained run of games. The depth Arsenal added last summer — eight new arrivals — helped them navigate a similarly stretched 2024-25 campaign, but Arteta will be acutely aware that beginning a title defence short of key personnel is a risk that cannot easily be managed twice in succession.