- Maybe we should make up the stories before the rumour mongers get there
- Arsenal have 100 years in the top division, but football has a problem, and something has to change
By Tony Attwood
The news has broken that Arsenal‘s head of sports medicine Dr Zafar Iqbal is leaving the club. Some reports speak of him being sacked, some mention that the departure was “sudden”. Dr Iqbal has been with Arsenal for only just over two years. It is said that he previously worked with Tottenham, although I am not sure any implication can be drawn from that.
But before I go any further, I want to make it very clear that I do not have any inside information either on the life or work of Dr Iqbal, and I have no experience in working in or writing about medicine. I’m just looking at the newspaper and online commentaries in relation to events at Arsenal.
Most reports that I have seen mention that Dr Iqbal has worked with Liverpool FC and Tottenham H., and one may wonder why he has moved from club to club. But of course, regular moves between one club and another might be commonplace in medicine as much as in professional football. I have absolutely no experience in either but I know as a patient I would rather like it if the practitioner I see is the same one as I saw last time, as I feel the doctor can build up an understanding of the activities I undertake and the particular weak points in both my body and my mind.
But Wikipedia tells us that Dr Zafar Iqbal has worked as a physician for clubs as varied as Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace. Of course, I know nothing of his life and work, and to be clear, it could be that the doctor moved to accommodate the career of another family member. I don’t know at all.
Of course, the doctor might have felt that the club promised him a pay rise which didn’t emerge. Or maybe the deal was the doctor would reduce the number of days that players were unavailable through injury, and in the end couldn’t. I have no idea what has gone on.
Also we don’t know if he really was sacked. It might be that his partner could not settle in north London. Or maybe he likes to move jobs quite regularly. Some people are like that.
During the many years when I was chair of a plc, I sometimes found that a member of staff who I thought was excellent at her job and a very positive member of the team would want to leave after a few years. And sometimes it was because such people just like moving on. Of course, I don’t know about Arsenal’s doctor, but people leave for all sorts of reasons.
But what we do know is that one of the most frustrating things for managers is regularly losing players who they really do rely on, on the pitch. And we know that the number of players injured in a season can vary enormously from one club to the next. But trying to find out why that is, is very hard.
All I can say is that clear information is not out there, we don’t know why the doctor has left, and the only bit of info we do have is that he has been a club doctor at several clubs, but doesn’t seem to have lasted very long at any of them. But then when it comes down to it I don’t know how long doctors at clubs normally last. Plus I have no idea why the doctor has left and I know little about sports injuries.
Iqbal had been at the club since February 2024, having previously held roles at Liverpool and Tottenham. He could be leaving because he got a better offer from another club, and Arsenal decided, as many employers do, to remove the individual on full pay, rather than have him work out his contract. I can say that the BBC site says, “Iqbal is highly respected throughout football, and the decision has come unexpectedly, though some members of staff have been aware of the uncertainty over his future in recent weeks. The reasons are unclear, but the Gunners’ squad sustained a number of key injuries throughout the season.”
It is also said that Arsenal have been reviewing their injury record recently and that “Arsenal’s transfer business last summer was focused far more on squad depth than in previous windows in a direct attempt to ensure injuries did not derail another season.”
Arteta has said that if a club can get its “best players on the pitch as much as possible and the probability to win it increases dramatically. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.” Apparently, in the treatment room at Arsenal’s training ground, there is the notice “Your best ability is your availability.” It appears Arteta sees that as a major point.
When I told the Arsenal manager that my best ability was my availability, he replied ‘Go and play for Spurs’.
I cried at the thought.