Arsenal are turning to drastic measures to solve a recurring problem

Arsenal have enlisted the help of NASA in a bid to get to the bottom of their persistent injury problems, with Mikel Arteta increasingly frustrated by the number of key players being struck down at crucial stages of the season.

The Gunners have become all too familiar with losing important members of their squad for extended periods, often at the worst possible moments.

Bukayo Saka was recently ruled out for more than two months with a thigh injury, having also missed significant spells of the previous two seasons with various muscle problems. Additionally, William Saliba has been sidelined all season with a back injury sustained over the summer.

The Frenchman also missed the closing stages of Arsenal's 2022/23 title challenge, a setback which proved hugely costly as Manchester City eventually overtook them. Since then, Arteta has been determined to find a way of reducing the club's injury toll.

Few would have expected that mission to take him quite so far as outer space. Well, not quite. But Arsenal have indeed turned to NASA for its expertise in space physiology, hoping to better understand muscle injuries and, in particular, how to prevent and rehabilitate ACL damage.

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The American space agency has spent decades researching the effects of reduced gravity on the human body. Without the usual physical demands placed on muscles and bones, astronauts experience muscle atrophy and a loss of bone density. NASA has therefore developed considerable expertise in understanding how the body responds to reduced loading and how it readapts when normal physical demands are restored.

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal believe there could be valuable lessons to take from that research they can apply to their own ACL rehabilitation programmes.

Among the areas explored were how much weight an injured player should bear at different stages of recovery, how quickly that load should be increased and whether reduced-gravity exercise could allow players to resume running and other loading movements sooner. Another key consideration was how to establish whether a player's body is genuinely tolerating those increased demands, rather than simply completing the prescribed exercises.

It's an area of particular importance given Arsenal's recent experiences with serious knee injuries. Jurrien Timber ruptured his ACL on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest in August 2023, ruling him out for almost nine months. Gabriel Jesus suffered the same injury in January 2025 and spent 332 days on the sidelines.

NASA aren't the only major name Arsenal have brought into their injury-prevention project, either. Google, one of the club's official partners, have also been consulted over data analytics, with the technology giant's ability to process enormous quantities of information potentially helping to identify patterns associated with injury risk.

That could include detecting subtle changes in players' running mechanics or physical output which might otherwise go unnoticed. Apple have also been consulted about the use of wearable technology to collect physiological data and build a more detailed picture of how players respond to training and rehabilitation.

Whether these technological advances will translate into fewer injuries remains to be seen. Injuries are notoriously difficult to predict, with a multitude of factors involved and plenty beyond a club's control.

Arsenal have taken more conventional steps to address the problem, overseeing a significant overhaul of their medical department last summer. The changes were kickstarted by the appointment of Spanish physiotherapist Joaquin Acedo, a long-standing associate of Arteta dating back to the manager's playing days at Real Sociedad more than two decades ago.

Other arrivals included head of medical services Dr Arnaldo Abrantes and physiotherapist Carmen Marquez, both of whom joined from Aston Villa, alongside head of player rehabilitation Eneko Angulo and fitness coach Jose Jimenez.

The Gunners haven't been quite as badly affected this season, although their problems have hardly disappeared. Alongside Saliba and Saka, Christos Tzolis, Ben White and Mosquera have all spent time out, while Eberechi Eze recently picked up an unspecified injury.

For all the scientific research and technological investment, Arsenal's problem remains a familiar one. Arteta has built a squad capable of challenging for the biggest honours, but repeated injuries to key players have too often undermined their ambitions. And until he can rely on his best players being fit when it matters most, even the help of NASA might not be enough.