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Arsenal are in the middle of a chaotic fixture schedule and have been handed a strange kick-off time this weekend.
The Gunners travel to Wolves on Saturday, live on talkSPORT, and the game will get started at the unusual time of 7.30pm.
Arteta’s side have a very busy schedule
AFP
That slot has been chosen for the game as Mikel Arteta‘s side have midweek fixtures on either side of it.
It will come just three days after Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
Then, next Tuesday night, Mikel Arteta’s men will host Chelsea at 8pm in a match that was rescheduled due to the Blues’ involvement in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
So, therefore, the only slot available to allow the appropriate recovery time for the players was an extra late kick-off on Saturday.
Following a damaging defeat to Aston Villa last time out, Arsenal will be keen to bounce back and regain momentum in the title race.
And they’ll have to recover from that loss quickly with so many games scheduled for the rest of this month.
Things will get hectic for the Premier League title chasers, as after having three games in less than a week, they are currently scheduled to then face Tottenham away on Sunday, April 28.
The Premier League has confirmed this match will be moved to April 27 if the Gunners are drawn to compete in the Champions League semi-finals on April 30.
March 31: Man City 0-0 Arsenal
April 3: Arsenal 2-0 Luton
April 6: Brighton 0-3 Arsenal
April 9: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich
April 14: Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa
April 17: Bayern Munich (A) – 8pm
April 20: Wolves (A) – 7.30pm
April 23: Chelsea (H) – 8pm
April 28: Tottenham (A) – 2pm*
April 30: Champions League semi-final first-leg**
*Moved to April 27 if Arsenal progress to Champions League semi-final
**If Arsenal progress to Champions League semi-final
So should that game be rescheduled, Arsenal will have been forced to play ten matches across a four-week span.
Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City have not had it easy either, with nine games scheduled in the same time period.
Speaking in February after the Gunners were given a 19-day break despite the upcoming busy schedule, Arteta insisted he was not fussed.
The Spaniard said: “It is what it is. We knew that, it was an option and now we'll plan to use that time in the best possible way.
“Because that would mean that we'd then have a more congested period in April.”
He added: “The difference is three or four more days.
“We're going to have two-and-a-half or three weeks [without a game] and I don't think that that is going to change the world.”
Continue reading...
The Gunners travel to Wolves on Saturday, live on talkSPORT, and the game will get started at the unusual time of 7.30pm.
Arteta’s side have a very busy schedule
AFP
That slot has been chosen for the game as Mikel Arteta‘s side have midweek fixtures on either side of it.
It will come just three days after Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday.
Then, next Tuesday night, Mikel Arteta’s men will host Chelsea at 8pm in a match that was rescheduled due to the Blues’ involvement in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
So, therefore, the only slot available to allow the appropriate recovery time for the players was an extra late kick-off on Saturday.
Following a damaging defeat to Aston Villa last time out, Arsenal will be keen to bounce back and regain momentum in the title race.
And they’ll have to recover from that loss quickly with so many games scheduled for the rest of this month.
Things will get hectic for the Premier League title chasers, as after having three games in less than a week, they are currently scheduled to then face Tottenham away on Sunday, April 28.
The Premier League has confirmed this match will be moved to April 27 if the Gunners are drawn to compete in the Champions League semi-finals on April 30.
Arsenal's fixture nightmare
March 31: Man City 0-0 Arsenal
April 3: Arsenal 2-0 Luton
April 6: Brighton 0-3 Arsenal
April 9: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich
April 14: Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa
April 17: Bayern Munich (A) – 8pm
April 20: Wolves (A) – 7.30pm
April 23: Chelsea (H) – 8pm
April 28: Tottenham (A) – 2pm*
April 30: Champions League semi-final first-leg**
*Moved to April 27 if Arsenal progress to Champions League semi-final
**If Arsenal progress to Champions League semi-final
So should that game be rescheduled, Arsenal will have been forced to play ten matches across a four-week span.
Title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City have not had it easy either, with nine games scheduled in the same time period.
Speaking in February after the Gunners were given a 19-day break despite the upcoming busy schedule, Arteta insisted he was not fussed.
The Spaniard said: “It is what it is. We knew that, it was an option and now we'll plan to use that time in the best possible way.
“Because that would mean that we'd then have a more congested period in April.”
He added: “The difference is three or four more days.
“We're going to have two-and-a-half or three weeks [without a game] and I don't think that that is going to change the world.”
Continue reading...