Arsenal’s head doctor Zafar Iqbal is leaving the club.
Iqbal, 51, joined the club from Crystal Palace in 2023, replacing Gary O’Driscoll, who left the club to join Manchester United after spending 16 years in north London.
Despite ending their 22-year wait for a Premier League trophy and reaching the finals of the Champions League and Carabao Cup, Arsenal sustained several injuries last season.
Captain Martin Odegaard was limited to 36 appearances in all competitions and started just 16 Premier League games due to a range of knee and muscular injuries. He started and scored in Norway’s 1-1 draw with Morocco on Sunday, and after the game, admitted to broadcasters that he had been “struggling” with his knee for a “while.”
Bukayo Saka made 31 league appearances last season, the second fewest amount of games he had played since he established himself in the first team during the 2020-21 campaign, due to hamstring, hip, and Achilles issues.
Jurrien Timber missed the last few months of the season due to a groin issue, and despite playing for almost an hour of the Champions League final in May, has since been forced to withdraw from the Netherlands’ World Cup squad. Timber, along with Eberechi Eze, missed the Carabao Cup final in March due to injuries.
Gabriel, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke all missed games last season due to injury.
Arsenal’s 2024-25 campaign was more severely curtailed by injury. Many of their best players — Gabriel, Odegaard, Saka and Havertz — endured significant injuries, and several players had to undergo surgery.
Arsenal played 63 matches in all competitions last season, in addition to five pre-season friendlies.