Mikel Arteta will review the Arsenal warm-ups after being forced into several last-minute changes ahead of matches, suggesting getting rid of them entirely could even be considered.
Four times this season the Gunners have suffered injury problems up ahead of kick-offs, including three in the last couple of months that have necessitated alterations to the lineups.
William Saliba came off after five minutes against Liverpool at Anfield in August after failing to shake off an ankle issue he picked up in the warm-up.
Riccardo Calafiori has since twice had to pull out of the starting lineup, including against Wigan in the FA Cup, while Bukayo Saka limped out of the warm-up ahead of the Leeds match last month.
Asked if the warm-up problems were something Arsenal are looking into, Arteta replied: "Yeah, big time.
"They were very different. The first one was with Wilo (Saliba) when he rolled his ankle against Liverpool. Then we had two incidents with Ricky (Calafiori) in the warm-up in a really similar way.
"And then one with Bukayo (Saka) after he rested on midweek and didn't play against Kairat and then against Leeds. He had that incident. Very unusual.
"Probably happened once or twice I think in six years that I've been here, and it happened four times [this season]. So obviously we are looking into it.
"On the Wilo one, it’s one that’s very difficult to see. Sometimes, you want to try and test a player before making sure that he's ready, and the warm-up is another opportunity to do that.
"And Bukayo is very random because he never gave any symptoms or signals away that this could happen in the warm-up. But it is what it is. We have to learn."
The latest disruption to Arteta's plans came before Sunday’s defeat of Wigan, and the Spaniard believes the recent spate of warm-ups issues have made him a better coach - even if it has added to the pre-match stress he feels.
"Yes, I can feel it in my body," Arteta said.
"I'm more aware of it. So in the office at the moment, I hear my door and somebody is stepping in and I'm like, ‘no, please!'
"Because it's a moment that is very tricky because when you change Ricky for Bukayo you have to change a lot of things within the game plan, positions, a lot of things that are different and you have two minutes to do that.
"So yes, it makes you a better coach because you have to be ‘what if, what if’ and there are more and more what-ifs just before the game and then a lot during the game. So you just need to be more prepared."
Arteta also hinted that Arsenal could consider restructuring how they conduct warm-ups.
While there is a familiar routine to how players currently prepare for matches and the drills they go through, Arteta even raised the prospect of doing away with the warm-up entirely.
"I mean, I was a player as well and we like set routines and that's the way you tell your body as well," Arteta said. "It's coming, it's coming, it's coming. And to change that sometimes is tricky.
"It's a really good area to have a look at what will happen if we don't do the warm-up.
"Because then at half-time, we go at half-time and we sit almost for 15 minutes and then we go full gas again in the second half. So, yes, maybe something to think about."
