Mikel Arteta wants a rule change after making 'really sad' decision in Arsenal's Community Shield win
Mikel Arteta was a happy man after Arsenal beat Manchester City to win the Community Shield.
The Gunners’ boss has now won the competition three times as a manager, after winning it twice as a player during his time at the Emirates.
That is an extraordinary achievement, and the performance his side produced to convincingly hammer City would’ve pleased him even more.
However, there is one rule that made Arteta really sad before the Community Shield.
Mikel Arteta requests a rule change after Arsenal beat Manchester City in the Community Shield
Mikel Arteta named a strong squad for the Community Shield against Manchester City.
The Spaniard started many of his key players, while his bench was filled with potential game-changers as well.
However, what was difficult for Arteta was the fact that he was allowed to name only eight outfield players on his substitutes’ list.
Due to that, the Arsenal boss had to leave out Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus from his matchday squad, even though they travelled to Cardiff with their teammates.
🚨⚠️ Ethan Nwaneri will leave Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window, as planned weeks ago.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 16, 2026
He’s not even on the bench today against Man City despite being involved in pre-season. pic.twitter.com/HgWbob3Mmv
That irked Arteta, and he hoped for a change in the rule after the game.
He said about the trio he left out, as per Hand of Arsenal on X: “It’s really sad to not have that availability. They deserve to be in the squad.
“Hopefully we can change that rule. Yes, they are all really important for us.”
In his press conference, Arteta debunked the thought that Nwaneri, Jesus and Martinelli were left out due to transfer reasons.
He said, as per Football London: “Just technical decisions. Trying to persuade the Premier League and the clubs to try and extend the number of players we have in the squad.
“We play so many games and the load is unreal. Maybe the demands of those players… it is a shame. But it’s nothing to do with [transfers]. We believed that for today’s game, they were the players we needed.”
This is not his first call for change either.
Back in January this year, Arteta asked the Premier League to increase the matchday squad size by two, so that teams can have 20 outfield players available for every game.
So far, the decision-makers have not made any changes.