Arsenal handed unusual kick-off time as Gunners get awkward 10 fixture pile-up along with Liverpool and Man City

25/03/2024 12:52

Arsenal could face ten matches in just one month after the Premier League announced its latest round of fixture amendments.

The Gunners have been given a rare 7.30pm kick-off on a Saturday night when they travel to Wolves on April 20.

That game comes just three days after Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich for the second-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Then, on April 23, Mikel Arteta’s men will host Chelsea at 8pm on a Tuesday night, in a match that was rescheduled due to the Blues’ involvement in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Things could get even more hectic for the Premier League leaders, who are currently scheduled to face Tottenham away on Sunday, April 28.

The top-flight 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.

Should this happen, Arsenal face the awkward possibility of ten matches across a four-week span.

The Gunners are already playing five times between March 31 and April 14, including a title-defining match against Manchester City and the first-leg of their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

Arteta’s squad, who were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round, are currently in the middle of a 19-day break from football due to the postponement of the Chelsea fixture and the international break.

Title-rivals Liverpool and City do not have it easy, either, with nine games scheduled in the same time period, while Pep Guardiola’s side could also be handed a Champions League tie on April 30.

Meanwhile, the Reds are playing four consecutive away matches in ten days, and this could become five successive trips if they reach the Europa League semi-finals.

Speaking in February, Arteta insisted he was not fussed by the prospect of a long break before a seriously congested April.

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.”