The Premier League are considering a plan to cram the rest of the domestic season into a six-week period, according to a report this weekend.

Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal which was given by VAR during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 07, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 07: Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal which was given by VAR during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 07, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

The Telegraph claim a tentative current plan involves matches starting on June 1st. They’d play out over the following six weeks, before starting the new season on August 8th, as originally planned. The games would take place behind closed doors.

The report adds this plan also includes the FA Cup. Just for fun, let’s have a look at what that fixture list might look like for Arsenal, if they reached the FA Cup final and had to play their 10 league games between June 1st and July 12th, six weeks later.

  • Monday, June 1st – Manchester City vs Arsenal
  • Thursday, June 4th – Brighton vs Arsenal
  • Sunday, June 7th – Sheffield United vs Arsenal
  • Wednesday, June 10th – Southampton vs Arsenal
  • Saturday, June 13th – Arsenal vs Norwich
  • Tuesday, June 16th – Wolves vs Arsenal
  • Saturday, June 20th – FA Cup semi-final
  • Wednesday, June 24th – Arsenal vs Leicester
  • Sunday, June 28th – Spurs vs Arsenal
  • Wednesday, July 1st – Arsenal vs Liverpool
  • Saturday, July 4th – Aston Villa vs Arsenal
  • Wednesday, July 8th – Arsenal vs Watford
  • Sunday, July 12th – FA Cup final

To sum up, it would mean a game in every single midweek. The idea of travelling to Manchester, Brighton, Sheffield and Southampton in just 10 days is also particularly horrific.

Bear in mind these matches were originally scheduled between March 11th and May 23rd. That’s 74 days, now crammed into 45, making the fixture list around 64% busier.

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The Telegraph makes no mention of the European matches. Presumably, the plan is to scrap them altogether. I have no idea how Manchester United would fit in a potential extra six matches otherwise.

It’s not an impossible plan. It’s just an extremely ambitious one, if we’re even lucky enough to return by June.

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