Arsenal's Spanish head coach Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on July 4, 2020. (Photo by Michael Steele / POOL / AFP)

Premier League clubs may only get 2 weeks of summer off

Jul 12, 2020

Premier League players are likely to only get around two weeks of holiday this summer, given the tight turnaround for the start of next season.

arsenal fc v leicester city premier league 2 — LONDON, ENGLAND: Dani Ceballos of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match on July 07, 2020. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The Daily Mail reported earlier this week that several clubs are planning to start pre-season training around August 10th, despite the league season only ending on July 26th. As things stand, the new Premier League season kicks off on September 12th.

At this stage, there’s no confirmation of the exact start date. The Premier League clubs failed to confirm it formally at their last shareholder meeting. But that’s looking like the most likely time.

Unlike some of the other top English clubs, Arsenal don’t have any European football to deal with in August. They may still struggle to find a proper break, though, particularly if they make the FA Cup final and have to play in the Community Shield.

Plus there’s the complication of international football. One of the international breaks is at the start of September, so if that goes ahead as normal, players will spend their final week of preparation away from their clubs. Hence the early training start-date.

Even then, next season will still involve another packed schedule. The campaign has to end by May 16th to fit in the Euros, despite starting a month later than usual.

There’s little wiggle room for the next year of football, so expect more of the same schedule we’re getting right now.