Scheduling domino effect impacts multiple matches for Arsenal

Arsenal’s scheduling continues to suffer changes as a result of recent postponements.

The Gunners announced that their Europa League home match with PSV Eindhoven will be played on Thursday, Oct. 20. Initially, UEFA scheduled the game for this upcoming Thursday, Sep. 15. However, due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the fixture between the two top teams in group A of the competition changed time.

Also, the decision to accommodate the Europa League game impacted a Premier League matchup. Arsenal’s contest with Manchester City, originally set for Wednesday, Oct. 19, moves to allow Arsenal to partake in its European fixture.

UEFA, the sport’s governing body in Europe, praised the Premier League for the rescheduling. “UEFA would like to thank the Premier League and the clubs concerned for their flexibility and cooperation in the rescheduling of the UEFA Europa League match which had been postponed due to the impossibility for local police forces to guarantee its secure staging,” read its official statement.

Arsenal’s scheduling conflicts move City clash

Earlier in the week, City manager Pep Guardiola suggested that the game versus Arsenal would not take place. “After the international break, we’ll have one month and a half with a lot of games,” Guardiola said in Tuesday’s press conference. “We have seven Premier League games, five games at home, it depends if the Arsenal game will be postponed or not. Then the World Cup.”

The domino effect to reschedule the two games adds to Arsenal’s scheduling headache. As the World Cup is taking place midseason this year, fixture lists for European clubs were already tight. The Gunners will now play nine matches in the month of October. They also have three more fixtures scheduled for early November before the start of the World Cup.

Arsenal’s next game away to Brentford on Sunday is apparently set to go ahead as planned. The Premier League has already postponed 13 matches within the last week.

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