Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has sounded the alarm over player workload, saying his team’s injury crisis is “a consequence” of increasing demands on footballers. Arteta said he was training his squad “less than ever” in a bid to balance a schedule that can require European football’s top stars to play 60-70 games a season.

Mikel Arteta has called season-ending injuries like the one suffered by Kai Havertz “an accident waiting to happen” with the increasing demands on current players. Havertz tore his hamstring on Arsenal’s warm-weather training trip to Dubai and will require surgery,