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Arsenal have called on the Premier League to rearrange their game against Everton after they were ordered to face Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on 23 December.
In a strongly worded statement that blamed the expanded European schedules for “undermining” the reputation of the competition, the EFL confirmed on Monday that it had accepted Palace’s request to push the game back a week from its original date of 16 December that would have left Oliver Glasner’s side facing three matches in five days. The FA Cup winners argued that it meant they would have 24 hours less to prepare for the tie due to their Conference League commitments, although Arsenal opposed the request and wanted the game to be played on its original date.
The new scheduling means that both clubs now face two matches in the space of three days, which is a prospect that Mikel Arteta is keen to avoid. Asked before the Champions League meeting with Slavia Prague on Tuesday night how he would prepare his side for such a scenario, the Arsenal manager said: “Hopefully then they will move our Premier League match because to play on this date doesn’t make any sense, obviously. So we will now decide the date. I leave that to the club. I think we’re very clear what was the best thing, the most logical date to play.
“They bring a different date so I’m sure we’ll have to adapt to that. I’m sure we will apply the principles of first of all the players, then the supporters, and then the times that we need to have equality and the same chances for every club. So hopefully it will be fair.” The Premier League has declined to comment on Arsenal’s request.
Arteta made 10 changes for Arsenal’s win against Brighton in the last round of the Carabao Cup but will be without Viktor Gyökeres for the game against Slavia after the Sweden striker sustained a muscle injury against Burnley on Saturday. That leaves the Premier League leaders without seven first-choice attackers and their manager believes the packed schedule is partly to blame.
“I don’t know what depth we’re talking about now because we’re missing a lot of players, a lot of front players,” he said. “If we continue to do that every three days … we want respecting. What we discussed previously [player welfare], that in our opinion it’s the most important part.”
The EFL statement said it shared Arsenal and Palace’s frustrations in what was described as an “unavoidable” situation due to both sides’ European commitments.
“To continue making endless concessions only serves to undermine the reputation of the EFL Cup – a competition which delivers vital revenue to EFL Clubs and provides millions of supporters with the opportunity to back their team on the road to Wembley each season,” it read.
“It also challenges the traditional scheduling of the English football calendar and strength of our domestic game, which relies upon teams having the necessary time for preparation and ability to field their strongest lineups, in order to entertain their supporters and progress through the competition.”
Arteta would not reveal which muscle Gyökeres injured after scoring his first domestic goal for almost two months against Burnley, with Mikel Merino expected to fill in for the Sweden striker. But, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still sidelined, he admitted it was a far from ideal situation to be without the player signed for £64m in the summer.
“I am concerned because he hasn’t had many muscular issues and he had to do the pitch and he was feeling something,” Arteta said. “That’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive. So we are digging in a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury and we’ll announce the moment we know. He was very disappointed after the match with what he felt, but this is part of football.
“At the end, if you expect a linear line, everything going up, it’s not going to happen. And if he’s got something, he’s going to have to deal with it. We will help him to do that. As you said, he was in a really good moment, in a really good form. He’s very important for the team.”
