PFA chief echoes Mikel Arteta's Arsenal fears as blunt 'killing the product' message sent

Maheta Molango, the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive, has stated his concern over football's congested timetable. He believes it's 'killing the product' and putting players' wellbeing at risk.

Molango echoed the sentiments of multiple managers across both the men's and women's games, pointing to Kevin De Bruyne's injury in the first half of Manchester City's 2023 Champions League final triumph as an example. It follows recent comments made by England boss Sarina Wiegman, urging governing bodies to find a better balance to allow players an adequate period of rest.

Speaking earlier this month, Mikel Arteta called for the Premier League to afford top-flight fixtures the same privilege as Champions League away games and avoid scheduling Wednesday-to-Saturday lunchtime turnarounds in the future. The Gunners boss had previously been critical of the way fixtures are scheduled.

“Thank you so much to the Premier League to do that,” Arteta said back in March 2022. “And they’ve done it again when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United. So if they want to give them any advantage, I say to them today: ‘Thank you so much for doing that’.

“Don’t worry the players on Saturday they will be there, with energy. They will eat, sleep well, but thank you so much to the Premier League for putting the fixtures like this. Very, very helpful.”

Asked at the time if Arsenal made a case to the Premier League about the fixtures, Arteta said: “Yes, absolutely, because it is not fair. It is not fair what they have done.

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“It is always it’s BT, it’s Sky,